Sinful Salvation
by Kagaminelover657
Summary: After the Trickster agrees to a deal with a false god, Lavenza's halves are forced apart and imprisoned as humanity loses its freedom. When an unexpected heroine with a strange power and troubled past comes to their rescue, the trio are forced to team up to free Tokyo from the reign of the Phantom Thieves. But no one said this was going to be easy for all parties involved...
1. Chapter 1: The Deceitful Trickster

**A/N: This is my first attempt at a fanfiction for Persona 5, so I apologise if it comes across a little strange or unusual to most. I've literally finished playing Persona 5 not too long ago, and I came to favour Justine and Caroline after maxing our their confidant rank and all the trouble they went through because of 'Igor'. I tried searching on here for fanfics centred around them, but only came across M rated ones which... seemed to delve into territory I didn't want to stick my nose in based on what the summaries said. So, I thought I would give writing my own fanfiction for them a try, whilst adding original characters and scenarios into the mix to boot.**

 **This fanfic is essentially an AU that follows on from what is canonically classed as 'The Good Ending' in the game, which is triggered when the player agrees to the offer that 'Igor' proposes instead of refusing it, leading to a world where humans lose the will to think for themselves and the Phantom Thieves appear to become the same as the antagonists whose hearts they've changed (or at least that's my interpretation of it. There are different ones out there, too). Out of all the endings of the game, this seemed like the best ending to follow from that didn't involve me copying the events of the game with a replacement for the main character. For now, the first chapter will focus on setting up the current scenario regarding to how things came to be, so expect a lot of recaps from the game to appear here. But things will start to diverge from this as chapter 2 kicks in. I also ask that you stick around for author's notes at the end of this chapter, as I'll vaguely expand on some of the decisions I made in this chapter to avoid confusion and people asking questions.**

 **I would also like to point out that I was originally going to add dates into this chapter so people could discern the timeskips, but was unable to do so in certain parts since the date doesn't change on-screen in the game whilst the results of the good end play out. So please be aware that after the first scene in this chapter, the same date does not apply to the events that follow. They happen a little while after (probably around about two to three weeks, depending on how long it would have taken for the Phantom Thieves to change the hearts being broadcast in the news reports). I did my best to indicate this in the writing, but I just wanted to clarify in case people were still confused.**

 **I hope you do give this story a chance, though. Justine and Caroline deserve more love.**

 **WARNING TO ANIME-ONLY FANS: THIS FANFIC CONTAINS SPOILERS THAT GO BEYOND THE ENDING OF THE ANIME. IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME AND WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS, I RECOMMEND AVOIDING THIS FANFIC UNTIL A LATER DATE AS THERE WILL BE SPOILERS GALORE.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 5 or any of its characters; however, I do own any original characters that will appear in later chapters.**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Deceitful Trickster

 _ **24th December, 20XX [Time Unknown]**_

Standing with their legs spread apart in battle ready positions, Lavenza and Joker stared towards the false god disguised as the proprietor of the Velvet Room as he hovered a little way off the ground. With his true nature now exposed thanks to Joker reuniting Lavenza's two halves, Yaldabaoth stared down at the Velvet Room attendant and the human who possessed the power of the Wild Card with brightly glowing yellow eyes and hands held palm up on either side of him. Thin swirls of red and black curled around him as if to try to intimidate the pair stood before him, but their intense gazes remained locked to his darkly amused one with no sign of budging. He expected no less from Igor's loyal little assistant and the Inmate the old fool had put his hopes for humanity on.

"The Phantom Thieves will be praised and gain fame. The world will escape ruin as well," Yaldabaoth said in his distorted but deep voice, choosing to elaborate a little more on the deal he had offered as his eyes wandered to Joker's face to await his answer. "… What say you?"

With her scowl still present, Lavenza briefly side-glanced Joker from where she stood, not daring to budge from her position as she, too, awaited his answer. Despite Yaldabaoth's claims that he would save the world from ruin, Lavenza knew that world wasn't ideal in the slightest. It went against everything her master – the real Igor – had strived for to keep humanity's hopes alive. A world full of distortions where the Phantom Thieves gained praise from humans who had given up the will to think for themselves was not the way to go.

But Lavenza wasn't worried, even as she watched Joker straighten out his posture in preparation to give his response. It was difficult to read his gaze even past his mask, but she had high hopes for him. Her master had entrusted him with his wishes, after all. She knew that no matter what this false god would offer him, the Trickster would stand his ground and-

"Very well…"

"…?!"

The moment Joker's agreement left his mouth Lavenza turned her head towards him with wide eyes, her shock and horror at the situation being clearly present. Had she heard him, right? Did the Trickster really just do what she thought he'd done?

Her horrified gaze remained locked on Joker even when she heard Yaldabaoth's delighted and dark chuckle at his response, his words further driving the imaginary knife of betrayal into her chest.

"Our contract has been sealed then."

Joker nodded in agreement.

"It's a good deal."

Feeling her legs beginning to tremble underneath her, Lavenza finally managed to pry her gaze away and look down at the Velvet Room's large, circular rug in disbelief. She couldn't believe this was happening. It felt like nothing but a dream, but she knew better than to wish for such a fantasy to be true right now.

"… A pact between a false god and a human we placed our hopes on. Even we could not have predicted this. You have even undone my master's wish… You are a Trickster after all…"

Lavenza couldn't bring herself to look Joker's way to see his reaction to her words of disappointment, but based on his silence by the time Yaldabaoth chuckled for a second time out of amusement and closed his eyes, it was clear to her he couldn't bring himself to respond. Was he showing quick remorse for his decision, she wondered? Or was he just choosing to ignore her entirely?

"You truly are a child of man… It seems you couldn't win against your own desires. There is no need to be ashamed. I shall grant you that wish…"

Lavenza finally raised her gaze to Yaldabaoth as he started to laugh and lowered his head, her eyes once again wandering towards Joker stood to her left. He didn't glance her way at all, keeping his gaze focused on the false god he had just sold humanity's wishes and hopes to. Everything had been going so well up until now with his rehabilitation. So what could have gone wrong?

' _Something isn't right…'_

Tightening her grip around the large book 'Le Grimoire' clutched in her arms, Lavenza's scowl deepened as she finally turned her body around to face Joker fully.

' _But I cannot let this go on any longer. I must intervene, for my master's sake. The Trickster has betrayed him, but that doesn't mean I should give up. I will not forsake humanity.'_

"… I cannot allow this."

Joker turned to Lavenza with a surprised blink the moment she spoke up in a quiet tone, only for his eyes to widen when she raised the volume of her voice to yell in anger.

"I cannot stand by and watch my master's work be unravelled anymore! Regardless of your decision, as the sole attendant of the Velvet Room, it is my duty to continue my master's wishes. If I have to I will fight against you, Trickster."

"Hm… I foresaw this becoming an issue."

Lavenza briefly side-glanced Yaldabaoth when she heard him speak, witnessing him staring at her once more with his glowing yellow eyes for a few seconds before he tilted his head back.

"I spared your life during our first encounter because of your usefulness to me as a mere pawn loyal to my bidding. However, since you have proven yourself to now be an obstacle…"

Lavenza's eyes widened at the sight of the black and red swirls beginning to intensify in size, number, and speed, all three of which formed a small tornado of red and black around the false god that completely concealed him from view.

"… YOU SHALL PERISH!"

Lavenza cried out in alarm and brought Le Grimoire up in front of her face when a sudden strong gust blew her way and whipped at her platinum locks and skirt of her blue dress, encasing the Velvet Room in nothing but darkness that removed both Joker and Yaldabaoth from view.

Once the gust died down Lavenza lowered the book away from her face and spread her feet apart in a defensive stance, raising her shoulders and glancing around out of caution in preparation for Yaldabaoth to strike. She recalled him pulling the same trick during their first encounter, when he had succeeded in imprisoning her real master. She wasn't going to fall for the same trick again.

… Or so she thought.

Running footsteps charging towards her from behind had Lavenza acting quickly and turning around in preparation to counter them. But the attacker was faster. Before Lavenza was able to even raise a hand out in front of her, she let out a pained gasp at the surge of pain spreading throughout her abdomen, feeling Le Grimoire slip from her grip and fall towards the floor close to her feet and land with a loud thump that echoed around her. The sight of the black sleeve and red glove that held the knife which had been pushed into her caused Lavenza's pained gaze to slowly raise, her teary yellow eyes locking with the emotionless grey ones of Joker standing before her.

He had voluntarily undone the last act of kindness towards one fighting for the hopes and wishes of humanity, and that was the last straw for her. Her will to fight was gone.

As Lavenza's eyes drooped and she saw her consciousness slowly start to slip away, only one word was able to leave her lips in the tone of someone who had finally lost the will of rebellion as her body swayed from side to side, eventually falling forward as the darkness fully engulfed her vision and the tears in her eyes streamed down her cheeks.

"… _Why_ …?"

* * *

 ** _Unknown date of unknown month, 20XX [After School]_**

"… _On to other news. The police have officially withdrawn the arrest warrant on the Phantom Thieves… As well as apologised for those who led the investigation, citing they were inadequate for the task. Due to a drastic change in policy, it is speculated that they had a change of heart as well…_ "

With his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans, Ren Amamiya stood in silence at the front of the crowd gathered at Shibuya Crossing before the news being broadcast to them on the screen above him. However, despite his gaze being focused on the screen, he had no interest in the news being shown to him. In fact, he was keeping his focus on the comments he could hear around him from the lingering citizens.

"So the police were in the wrong after all," Ren heard one businessman remark with disappointment from somewhere close behind him. "They're the ones who must have been doing shady stuff."

"There's no way the Phantom Thieves could be evil…" Another young businesswoman said to Ren's right.

The young teenager was tempted to smirk at the comments he was hearing, but chose to remain quiet and continue looking at the screen so he didn't draw attention to himself. Not that he expected anyone to notice.

" _The actions of the Phantom Thieves show no signs of stopping. Change of heart police reports have already surpassed one hundred cases."_

"Only a hundred?" A male student exclaimed out of surprise from somewhere to Ren's left. "I thought it would've been double that already."

"Yeah, I know whatcha mean," replied someone who Ren assumed was probably the male student's friend. "We see news on them every day."

" _Meanwhile, there are reports that the rate of crimes and suicides are declining-"_

"Will things be all right? Our child's going to be born soon…"

Ren finally dared to turn his eyes away from the screen on the front of the building and side-glanced a young couple just in front of him, his gaze fixed on the pregnant woman who had spoken as she stared down towards her belly. Her husband turned his head away from the screen to give his wife a reassuring smile.

"It just means that more cases are being exposed thanks to the Phantom Thieves. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll do something about all that."

With the news having switched to a different story, Ren finally turned away and reached a hand out of his pocket to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a finger. A cocky smirk briefly appeared on his face as he did so.

' _All according to plan.'_

Returning his hand to his pocket seconds after his brief show of emotion faded, Ren started his walk away from the crowd and in the direction of Central Street.

' _And now… to tend to some unfinished business…'_

* * *

From the moment Caroline found herself able to blink her lone yellow left eye open she immediately regretted it, feeling her body stiffen from a sudden, throbbing pain throughout and coldness attacking her in one go. Hissing and closing her eye again, the platinum blonde girl rolled over onto her side and wrapped her arms across her chest, her teeth gritting as a coping mechanism. She didn't have time to properly take in her current surroundings or gather her thoughts, but she swore she could feel a slight chill in the air that not even her warden uniform could have shielded her from.

' _G-Gr-! This pain-! Where did it come from-?'_

Pausing her thoughts after a sharp intake of breath through her teeth, Caroline forced her left eye open to stare ahead at her surroundings as the faint sounds of chatter and footsteps reached her ears, deciding to at least try to get her bearings to get the answers she needed. She was struggling to recall what had happened beforehand, her mind currently nothing but a haze since she'd managed to awaken.

' _I can't remember much, but I'm sure I was in the Velvet Room with the Inmate. He and his confidants were erased from the humans' cognition after failing to complete his rehabilitation. The master ordered his execution, and-'_

However, her recollection was soon interrupted as her eye widened in shock at the familiar alleyway she found herself being met with shrouded in the orangey-purple glow the sky had taken under the setting sun, one which she'd found herself frequenting often whenever the Inmate was wandering around this specific area in the real world; 'Central Street' in 'Shibuya', if she recalled correctly.

' _Huh?!'_

Acting on instinct, the malicious warden pushed herself up into a sitting position and turned her gaze in the direction of the street to her right, only to hiss again when the movement prompted sharp pains to shoot through her limbs.

"Tch!"

Caroline reached a gloved hand to her head and hunched over to cope with the pain, her eye briefly closing for the second time as she dwelled in her thoughts once more and wrapped her other arm around her middle. She could feel a throbbing pain pulsing through her skull, one which was strong enough to distract her from her trembling body.

' _What's going on? How did I get here?'_

Caroline's grip tightened on the top of her head when she realised she couldn't feel her hat, causing her to blink in surprise and glance around at the ground closest to her out of panic.

' _My hat! Where is it-?!'_

It wasn't long before she found her gaze locking with the back of a familiar looking blue hat in front of her feet, her mouth morphing into a small triumphant despite the pain she felt.

" _Aha_!"

Caroline reached out the hand formerly on her head towards the front of the hat without hesitation, turning it around and bringing it to her lap for the moment.

"At least that's one mystery solved- _Huh_?!"

The malicious girl cut herself off mid-sentence and cried out in surprise at the letters she saw printed on the front of the hat, which read as 'O-Y-O-O'.

' _This isn't mine! That's Justine's hat!'_

The moment Caroline spoke her twin's name, though, she ended up reaching both of her gloved hands to either side of her head and gasping in pain at the sudden sharpness she felt, which was quickly followed by the sound of voices she immediately recognised as hers and Justine's.

' _ **Hey, we'll give you your last job. Be thankful and obey**_ _!'_

' _ **You must fuse us together**_ _,_ _ **with your own hands**_ _.'_

' _ **It's time you returned the favour for us assisting with your growth**_ _._ _ **Do it with care**_ _!'_

' _ **Now**_ _,_ _ **fuse us**_ _!'_

When the voices stopped, Caroline grunted and leaned forward, steadying herself and staying upright with her other hand pressed against the ground as she breathed heavily, attempting to pull herself together.

' _I remember. Justine and I… We were once one, and were torn apart by malicious intent. We asked the Inmate to fuse us, and-'_

"Justine…!" Caroline interrupted herself with a shocked yell upon realising she hadn't seen her anywhere since waking up, prompting her to raise her head and turn it frantically in search of her fellow twin warden within the alleyway.

' _We must have been separated again! That's why I'm…!'_

Grabbing Justine's hat again, Caroline pushed herself onto her feet as fast as she could, oblivious to the fact that the pain in her body had started to ease. However, she soon discovered that she was unsteady on her feet regardless, and ended up stumbling forward a few steps until she flinched when her right side hit the opposite wall. But she didn't dwell on her obstacle for long, soon straightening out her back to lean away from the brick wall. She had to find Justine. That was her main priority.

' _If Justine's hat was next to me, then she should be close by.'_

"… Justine!" Caroline called out to her fellow warden as she staggered further into the alleyway one slow step at a time, pressing her empty hand against the wall to help steady herself as she moved along.

She didn't need to worry about how loud her voice carried. Only the Inmate could see her and Justine in the real world, after all.

" _Justine_!" Caroline yelled again when she had yet to be met with a response from the addressed, scowling as she started to slow her pace down upon closing in towards the corner of the wall. "If you're here, say something!"

Caroline had just paused at the corner of the wall where the alleyway continued towards the right when she heard a quiet groan coming from that direction, the familiar and pained voice that followed it being the prompt to turn her head towards it.

"Over here…"

Caroline soon found her lone left eye staring into the lone matching right one that belonged to Justine, prompting her to gape at the sight of the hat-less warden lying sprawled on her front at the other end of the alleyway, with her black clipboard lying face down just before her along with her missing hat.

"Justine!"

Caroline was soon forcing her legs to run as she moved towards Justine, ignoring the remnants of pain still lingering through gritted teeth. By the time the malicious girl slowed down to a stop at her side, Justine had already managed to lift herself into a sitting position despite how much Caroline could see her arms visibly shaking from the strain, prompting her to drop onto her knees and huff as she tried to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?"

Justine didn't answer at first, instead choosing to reach out for Caroline's hat and her clipboard and grab each with both hands. She was acting like the pain didn't bother her in the slightest, but Caroline knew better than to underestimate Justine's lack of display when it came to emotion.

"Just about." Holding out Caroline's hat towards her, Justine tilted her head to the side. "Were you worried? Because you sounded it."

Caroline scowled as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks, grabbing her hat and snatching it away from the quiet warden's grip without hesitation. The pain in her body was slowly subsiding, so moving around didn't feel as much of a chore as it had been before.

"S-Shut up! I-I was worried about you lying down on the job! We're not supposed to disappoint our master, after all!"

Justine allowed a faint smile of amusement to show at this, straightening out her head once more to shake it in dismay.

"Of course."

Justine's smile faded as she watched Caroline pull her hat down over her head (being mindful of her twin hair buns as she did so) with one hand and raise her nose to the air with a loud 'Hmph!', reaching out to grab her own hat from the malicious warden's lap. Her eye briefly crossed with her clipboard in her own lap, prompting it to droop in dismay at the sight of the dirtied paper clipped at the front. Some of what was formerly written upon them was no longer salvageable, not that it mattered anymore.

"But it seems we have been separated by a false god once more. That would explain the pain and our current presence in the real world…"

With her eye widening in surprise at the words she heard, Caroline turned her gaze to Justine as the other warden placed her hat on her head and twisted the front of it from side-to-side a couple of times to adjust it properly. Waiting until she was finished, Caroline leaned forward without warning and reached out both hands to grip at Justine's shoulders, causing the latter's body to stiffen from surprise at how uncomfortably close Caroline's face was now to her own; just within nose distance of each other.

"Wait, how much do you remember?!"

Justine blinked in confusion at the question and the sudden desperation in Caroline's voice, having no idea what she was going on about.

"Huh?"

"You remembered the Inmate fusing us, right?!" Caroline continued, lightly shaking the other platinum blonde haired girl back and forth three times as she did so. "Do you remember anything else?!"

"…"

Justine lowered her gaze and turned her head away slightly towards the wall on her left, furrowing her brow out of thought.

"Only a name…"

Caroline frowned.

" _A name_? What name?"

Justine hesitated for a moment, staying silent as she dared to raise her gaze to Caroline's once more and furrow her brow further. Caroline wasn't able to wait for her to say it, however, prompting her to tighten her grip on Justine's shoulders and shake her three more times.

" _Justine._ _Answer me_. _What name do you remember_?"

"… Yaldabaoth."

"…?!"

Caroline raised both brows and let Justine go, leaning back a little with a confused blink.

"Yaldabaoth? What are you- Ah!"

Caroline cried out in agony when she felt the same sharp pain from before attack her head after mentioning the name, prompting both of her hands to move and grip at the sides of her forehead. With her own eye widening out of concern, Justine leaned in close to the other warden just as the latter heard two voices speaking in her head; one deep yet distorted, and the other young and curious.

' _ **I shall grant you an opportunity to make a deal with me.'**_

'… _**What do you mean?'**_

' _ **Should you wish it, I shall return the world to its prior state – one rampant with distorted masses.'**_

"Caroline…?"

"… Master… and the Inmate…?" Caroline mumbled, having failed to hear Justine address her. "No- That first voice… isn't the master. It's… Ugh! Why is this happening again…?!"

As Justine slowly raised a gloved hand and started to reach out for Caroline closest shoulder upon hearing her mumbles, her movement suddenly stopped when the latter hunched forward and grunted in pain again.

' _Did she say 'Master' and 'Inmate'? Is she remembering something?'_

A new voice had entered Caroline's head now just before the voice she had mistook for her master's followed suit, one which sounded younger and more feminine; one which she recognised.

' _ **You forcefully dragged him into the Metaverse and imposed an ordeal he did not deserve… Yet you still intend on toying with him?!'**_

' _ **The Phantom Thieves will be praised and gain fame. The world will escape ruin as well. … What say you?'**_

" _Caroline_ ," the single braided warden attempted to get Caroline's attention again when she saw the latter's body tremble and heard her panting from the strain of the recollection, pushing past her hesitation and reaching her hand out the rest of the way to place on a firm grip on her one shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"I-I remember," Caroline stuttered as the voices in her head started to fade away, causing Justine to blink in surprise as she paused to briefly catch her breath.

"Remember what?"

"I… _We_ exposed the one who stole our master's name. And he and the Inmate…"

Caroline's eye widened in horror upon realising something, her head raising to stare at Justine as she stared back with a confused blink.

"… What's the matter, Caroline?"

"He and the Inmate…" Caroline repeated, pausing briefly to find the right words to say. "… made a pact."

Justine's expression was soon mirroring Caroline's the moment the words left her mouth, causing her to let out a shocked gasp and pull her hand away. Now that Caroline mentioned it, she recalled Yaldabaoth mentioning of an ideal world as an offer to the Inmate shortly after they had fused and exposed him for his treachery. They had suspected he was just toying with the Inmate, but…

"A pact with a false god?! Then that means…"

Shaking her head repeatedly in disbelief, Justine placed a hand close to her mouth and locked her gaze with her dirtied clipboard. The words left a terrible taste on her tongue. They didn't sound true or right at all. She remembered the deal Yaldabaoth had put forth, but not the Inmate's answer. Everything before the contract offer was still a blur to her, right up until she and Caroline had awoken as separate halves in this alleyway.

"No! That can't be true! The Inmate wouldn't forsake humanity…" Justine paused to glance at a horrified Caroline once more, her brow furrowing. "… would he?"

Caroline was inclined to agree, and yet she couldn't deny what she'd just heard. It was as vivid as the voice of hers and Justine's former self when they had started regaining their memories the first time during the Inmate's rehabilitation. There were still gaps here and there between that moment and this situation in her memory, of course, but she was sure the conversation between the three of them had occurred. And yet…

' _Why can't I remember what the Inmate said…?'_

After a moment of staring the quiet warden down, Caroline scowled and balled her hands into fists, hitting them hard off her lap and causing Justine to lean back in surprise.

"H-He wouldn't! That has to be why we're here! The Inmate must have refused that false god's offer and he attacked us out of anger!"

Justine was silent as she watched Caroline get to her feet and unclench her fists so she could brush her hands against the front of her shorts. Her body wasn't hurting anymore, so she felt recovered enough to move around without difficulty on her feet again.

"We need to return to the Velvet Room at once and speak with the Inmate."

Letting out a small sigh of dismay, Justine followed suit and reached one hand to grab her clipboard and the other to place flat against the wall to her left for support, bringing herself to her feet just as Caroline turned around and started moving towards the other end of the alleyway.

"It seems like the only option we have at the moment-"

"What the-?! Where is it?!"

Justine glanced at Caroline at hearing her interruption to see her suddenly sprinting the rest of the way down the alleyway, watching as she came to a stop just in front of the brick wall where the dark blue and transparent door leading to the Velvet Room should have been. However, Justine blinked in shock upon noticing there was no sign of said door, only Caroline waving her arms out in front of her in attempt to try to feel around for it as if it had turned invisible for some reason.

"It's usually right here! Why isn't it here?!"

Securing her clipboard within the crook of her right arm whilst keeping her hand's current grip on it, Justine was soon jogging to catch up to Caroline, slowing down to a stop when she was only a small distance away to get a closer look at the situation. She was silent as she continued to observe Caroline flailing her arms about for a little longer before she eventually relented and dropped her arms to her sides, slumping her shoulders in dismay.

"I'm getting sick of this already! Everything is going wrong and we don't even know why!"

"…"

Unsure of how to respond, Justine said nothing and turned her gaze to the entrance of the alleyway, switching her focus to the bustling crowds of people walking from left to right and right to left with their hands in the pockets of the coats shielding them from the cold. The longer she stared at them, the more she started to suspect that something wasn't right. She had failed to notice this whilst being hidden away behind the wall, but she could see now that the surroundings in Central Street appeared to be 'normal'… which caused her to furrow her brow in thought.

"… Caroline," Justine started, keeping her gaze locked on the people walking by as Caroline stood up straight and turned to glance at her back. "The Inmate and his confidants… were erased from the humans' cognitions when Mementos was fused with the real world, were they not?"

Raising a brow out of confusion Caroline followed Justine's gaze to the crowded Central Street, briefly hesitating to respond due to failing to understand what her fellow warden was insinuating by her enquiry.

"… _Yeah_. That's what I remember." She briefly paused to focus her gaze on Justine again, her brow yet to lower. "Why?"

Justine glanced at Caroline with her usual calm expression on her face, but Caroline wasn't fooled. She could see the concern lingering in her lone right eye.

"Everything is normal."

Caroline gave a shrug of her shoulders.

"So?"

Justine's frown deepened.

"This isn't right. When Mementos was fused with the real world, the surroundings were altered. But now…"

Caroline's lone eye widened out of realisation, prompting her to stare at the people through the rain still going about their day as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened to them. Now that Justine mentioned it… _why was_ everything normal?

"W-Well…" Caroline's voice shook as she tried to come up with another 'logical explanation' for this strange turn of events, turning her gaze to Justine with a frown of her own. "M-Maybe the Inmate finally did his job right and just didn't tell us! _We did_ turn to him for help for a reason, didn't we? If everything is normal, then- then that must mean he saved humanity! Just like he was supposed to!"

Justine stared at Caroline a little longer before she lowered her head to glance at her feet, her eye drooping. She knew Caroline was only making excuses because she wanted to deny the possibility of the Inmate betraying them just as much as she did. But it was hard for her to ignore.

"… But what if the Inmate didn't save humanity? What if he did make a pact with-"

Caroline was quick to reach for her shock baton strapped to the belt of her shorts and yank it free without a second thought as Justine started talking, only to swing it towards the wall as hard as she could and cause a thud loud enough to interrupt her and force her to raise her head.

"Would you stop questioning everything, Justine?!"

When Justine stared at her with a shocked blink, Caroline deepened her scowl and moved her baton so that it was pointing straight at her in an accusation-like manner.

"Our master entrusted the fate of the humans to the Inmate and it's our job to help him with that goal! You should know better than to question our master's judgement!"

Justine gaped at Caroline's words and annoyed tone, causing her to falter as she became lost for words. Caroline often acted demeaning towards her, but there were times where she did cross the line.

Tightening the grip of her fingers on her clipboard Justine lowered her head again, but this time she did so out of shame. The reaction from the quiet warden prompted Caroline's brow to relax out of guilt, forcing her to stay silent and lower her baton upon realising that maybe she'd been a little harsh with her words. She shouldn't have taken her anger out on Justine like that.

"…"

Letting out an annoyed huff, Caroline slowly started walking forward to approach Justine whilst moving her baton to her belt to attach it again and put it away. Upon pausing in front of the other, Caroline placed a hand to Justine's closest shoulder with a firm grip to grab her attention, waiting until the latter chose to lift her head before speaking up.

"… Would it help ease your mind if we spoke with the Inmate about this?"

Justine blinked in surprise at Caroline's suggestion, being momentarily taken off guard by it.

"Speak with the Inmate?"

Caroline nodded.

"If the real world is normal again, then the Inmate should be here, too. We can find out what really happened from him."

Justine frowned at this suggestion, clearly sceptical regarding the matter.

"But how can we find him? He could be anywhere."

Caroline gave a wide yet triumphant looking smile and placed one hand to her hip, using the other to hold up an index finger.

"Heh! I've watched the Inmate wander around in the real world enough times to know what he does and where he goes!" She paused to close her eye for further emphasis on her reassurance. "Just leave it to me! I'll find out where he is in no time! Any objections?"

Justine raised a brow and said nothing as she listened to Caroline make her case, but after a moment of staring at her fellow warden in silence the single-braided girl sighed in defeat. There was no stopping Caroline now. When she had her mind set on something, she was too stubborn to have it changed.

"… No."

With her smile morphing into a grin, Caroline turn around to face the entrance to the alleyway, raising a hand to point in that direction.

"Good! Now, let's go find that inmate so I can give him a piece of my mind!"

Justine shook her head in dismay the moment Caroline started her jog towards the moving crowds of people ahead of them, deciding to walk slowly after her as she got a little bit of distance away from her.

' _I have a bad feeling about this… But it looks like I'll have to go along with Caroline's idea for now.'_

However, Justine soon paused when she saw a sudden flash of dark blue light from the corner of her eye, prompting her to quickly turn her head around and glance behind her with a curious blink. Her mouth fell open with shock upon sighting the Velvet Room's transparent blue glowing door having appeared open where it normally would in this area, but she was still quick to react by calling for Caroline before she got too far away.

"Wait, Caroline! The door!"

Caroline planted her feet down on the ground to force herself to stop just as she'd gotten a short distance away from the alleyway's entrance at Justine's shout, causing her to turn around and look back towards the other warden with a confused blink of her own.

"What was that, Justine-?"

A loud gasp cut Caroline off the moment her own gaze locked with the door that she was sure hadn't been there when she'd checked not too long ago, her eye widening. After a few seconds, though, Caroline scowled and moved forward to jog her way back into the alleyway just as Justine dared to take the necessary steps she needed to get close enough to observe the door for herself.

By the time Caroline was at her side, the quiet girl was turning to glance at her fellow warden the moment the former chose to speak again.

"It _reappeared_?! But…"

Justine could understand Caroline's confusion, her brow furrowing into a frown of her own as she faced the door once more. The two had control over the Velvet Room's doors at all times, being able to open and close them whenever the Inmate needed access. The doors always remained around whenever they were present in the real world or the Metaverse, and always disappeared whenever they returned to the Velvet Room. So for it to suddenly reappear when it had previously been absent whilst they were in the real world…

"Something's wrong," Justine muttered, her frown deepening out of worry as Caroline glanced her way with a raised brow.

" _What's_ wrong?"

The hand holding her clipboard started to tremble as Justine briefly lowered her gaze to the floor. At this point, all she had was mere speculation, but…

" _Justine_."

Justine flinched in surprise when Caroline addressed her in an annoyed tone and grabbed her by the shoulders, allowing the latter to turn her around to face her without lifting her gaze.

"If you know something, then say it! Don't hold back on me!"

Justine dared to look into the scowling face of Caroline after a few more seconds of hesitation, waiting a few seconds longer before she forced herself to speak.

"This is just speculation… but I have a feeling that- Ah…!"

"Ow!"

Before Justine had the chance to finish her response, she cried out in surprise at feeling something roughly shove her in the back of her shoulder and force her to lose her balance, with the same happening to Caroline as she lost her grip on Justine. The twin wardens were unable to react as they found themselves falling forward through the door to the Velvet Room together, with Justine feeling her clipboard slip from under her arm and out of her hand.

The transition from the real world to the Velvet Room was too fast for either warden to properly process, so the next thing the pair knew they were both grunting as they landed face-first against cold and hard brick flooring, with the sound of rattling chains echoing just in front of them. The two didn't need to look at their surroundings to know where they were. They wouldn't have ended up anywhere else through that door, after all.

Caroline was the first of the twins to recover from the tumble, lifting her head from the ground and giving it a quick shake to bring herself to her senses.

"Ugh… What just- … Ah?!"

Caroline cried out with shock when her eye widened at the sight of the green shackles now around her wrists, prompting a loud and horrified gasp to follow suit.

' _W-When did this happen?!'_

She turned this gaze towards Justine on her right when she heard chains rattle a second time, only to find the quiet warden gasping as she stared ahead at her own shackles around her wrists.

"It's as I feared…" Justine said in a frightened tone, her gaze lifting to stare past the bars of the cell she'd originally suspected they'd landed in. "Someone else has gained control of the Velvet Room."

Caroline followed suit and glared up at the bright green chains pulled across the bars of the cell door for a few seconds before switching it to the desk and chair placed in the middle of the room, just outside of the cells. It was currently empty, with no sign of their real master or the fake one seated behind it.

"Someone's replaced us?! That's ridiculous! Who could possibly-?!"

"On your feet, _Inmates_."

The moment the familiar voice interrupted Caroline, both her and Justine gaped in horror and turned their heads towards the right side of the area outside of the cell in the direction of the approaching footsteps. It only took a few seconds before a certain Phantom Thief dressed in his trademark black tailcoat, black waistcoat, black trousers, red gloves, and silver and black eye mask entered the twins' view-line, confirming his identity as he stopped in front of the cell they were locked away in. An amused smirk was on his face as he made eye contact with the speechless twin wardens looking up at him from the floor, holding Caroline's shock baton down at his side in his right hand.

"Inmate…" Justine started out of disbelief before trailing off, just about managing to frown despite her shock at his apparent betrayal.

Joker's smirk widened slightly at Justine's response.

"That's _warden_ to you."

Caroline scowled and let out a low growl to express her annoyance.

"This isn't funny, Inmate!" Caroline paused mid-rant to get to her feet and start to move forward. "You've got some explaining to do-!"

The malicious warden was forced to stop at feeling something heavy tugging at her right ankle and hearing the rattling of chains behind her, glancing back and gaping at the sight of the ball and chain that was apparently attached to her. Her eyes then turned to Justine to see if she'd received the same treatment as the latter kept her gaze on Joker, sighting a similar ball and chain locked around her left ankle.

"Is that any way to speak to the _new attendant_ of the Velvet Room?" Joker replied in a mocking tone, prompting Caroline to turn her horrified gaze to him once more as he placed his empty hand to his hip and raised the baton so it pointed over his right shoulder.

" _Excuse me_?!"

"You heard me. Or don't you remember who _really_ split the two of you in half the second time?"

Justine's eyes widened at this revelation, finally giving her the prompt to at least push herself up from the floor and into a kneeling position. Caroline's expression remained unchanged as Joker turned his body away slightly to glance towards the middle of the Velvet Room.

"You should have seen the hurtful look on your face. Lavenza must have felt so betrayed and useless… that she just gave up."

Justine was speechless for a moment as she listened to Joker's explanation, briefly falling into thought as she felt the last of her missing memory of the events beforehand finally creep back to her.

' _I remember now. Up until the moment the Inmate separated us, we were prepared to continue to fight. But our hope ran out at the last second. As such, we must have relinquished our control of the Velvet Room… Just like when a Persona user loses the will of rebellion.'_

"… No…" Caroline mumbled as Joker's smirk faded away into a frown, finally managing to bring herself to speak again despite her shock. "You _did_ forsake humanity. Why would you…?"

"Because I'm sick of playing the hero for ungrateful people!"

Justine and Caroline blinked in horror at the sudden raise in volume and show of anger in Joker's voice, with the pair flinching when he clenched his empty hand into a fist and swung it at the wall just to the right of the bars.

"Do you know how _frustrating_ it's been trying to be a good person and constantly having terrible people walking all over you?! The man who ruined my life was being hailed as a _hero_ , despite _everything_ he's done! And what do the _Phantom Thieves_ get in return for trying to bring an evil man to justice?! _Their existence erased_!"

Justine and Caroline briefly side-glanced each other as Joker huffed in annoyance and shook his head, his shaking fist remaining pressed against the wall.

"It's unfair and unjust. Those rotten adults don't deserve the luxury to think for themselves. So it makes sense that I should take it away from the ungrateful and save them from ruin by changing the hearts of any who oppose me, as my master offered."

" _Master_?" Justine repeated, her brow furrowing in confusion as she tried to grasp the current situation. "Don't tell me…"

' _So, even the Trickster has fallen victim to the distortion of his desires…'_

Joker ignored her remarks, righting his posture and focusing his gaze between the twin wardens on the other side of the bars.

"You should be thankful." Joker paused to shrug his shoulders. " _I was_ going to let my master erase you. But why should I pass up an opportunity to get my revenge?"

" _Revenge_?" Caroline questioned, raising a brow and balling her hands into fists as they dangled in front of her. "Revenge for what?! We've done nothing but _help you_ , you ungrateful swine!"

Joker's eyes drooped as he turned them towards the baton still pointed over his shoulder.

" _Sometimes_. But most of that consisted of insults and electrocution, _especially from you_."

Caroline raised her right hand to point an accusing finger Joker's way, her left eye narrowing as her shackles rattled around.

"You're just being petty!"

"And you clearly need anger management. Perhaps experiencing your own medicine will teach you to calm down."

Joker allowed a smile of amusement to appear as Caroline gritted her teeth and loosened her fists in attempt to suppress her anger. She was clearly close to breaking point.

"Don't look so mad. You should be grateful I know mercy." Joker's amused smile widened. "Cry tears of joy, _Inmate_."

"You disrespectful prisoner!" Caroline yelled upon finally losing her temper, moving forward towards the bars despite feeling her right ankle dragging against the weight of the ball attempting to suppress the speed of her walk. "First you mock my poses, and now my lines?! You've clearly forgotten your place!"

Joker's smile faded as he watched Caroline stop just in front of the cell door and reach out both gloved hands to grip tightly at the bars, her lone yellow eye alight with anger. Justine, on the other hand, showed no reaction to the current situation, instead watching the current scenario unfold as if awaiting to see his reaction. She had never seen Caroline so angry before, and was quite surprised that the Trickster had succeeded in striking a nerve within her.

"Now, stop messing around and let us out of this cell this instant!"

Silence briefly fell around the area as Joker stared at Caroline's fuming face and stance, momentarily switching to Justine as she stayed quiet in her disbelief and watched what was happening without a word. He could tell that there was something on Justine's mind, and he suspected it was in relation to the real reason why he'd chosen to separate them and not exterminate them like Yaldabaoth had originally wanted. But he didn't have time to be wasting on that.

After a moment or two had passed, though, Joker pressed his thumb against the button on the baton and raised it away from his shoulder, swinging it towards the bars without warning and causing a loud clang as they made contact. Caroline cried out in shock and stumbled backwards away from the door as sparks of electricity alighted and flashed in front of her face, prompting Justine to flinch and watch with a quiet gasp as Caroline's hands recoiled to her chest when she dropped to the floor on her knees beside her.

Justine turned to Caroline with a shocked blink as she watched the malicious warden's face grow pale with fright at Joker's actions. She had never seen her so scared before. But then again, it was probably the first time Caroline had had her own baton activated right in front of her face.

"No. _Here_ is what's going to happen," Joker started in a strict tone, frowning and bringing the baton back to his side as he leaned down a little to get closer to the girls' level. " _You two_ are going to stay in there quietly and behave. And if you go out of line, I'm going to inflict the same punishments and treatment you inflicted on me." Joker paused to narrow his eyes behind his mask, as if goading the twin wardens to try to defy him at this point. "Have any objections?"

Justine and Caroline briefly locked their terrified gazes when the question was asked, neither of them daring to say another word back to him. There was still so much confusion surrounding the current situation at hand, but there was no point in either of them attempting to step out of line. He wouldn't bother giving them their answers now.

When the twin wardens dared to face Joker once more, the latter smiled in triumph at their continued silence, prompting him to stand up straight and tilt his head to the side.

" _Good_. Well then…" Pointing the baton towards the empty desk behind him, Joker's smile widened. "… allow me to _re-welcome_ you to the Velvet Room, _Inmates_. Let's begin your _rehabilitation_."

* * *

 **A/N: So, in regards to some of the decisions I made...**

 ** _Attendants/Control of the Velvet Room_ : I did my best to research into this, but all I managed to find out was that the Velvet Room's design was altered per game and solely focused on how Persona fusing methods differed and not how it generally works in terms of control. I'm not familiar with how the control over the Velvet Room works, but I figured that since Yaldabaoth found a way to relinquish its control from Igor, there was a chance the same could happen with Ren and Lavenza. I based this idea on the Phantom Thieves' losing their personas at the start of the True Ending path, where their lost faith and doubts in their original goals and humanity ultimately suppress their rebellious will temporarily. It seemed logical that the same could apply to Lavenza in regards to the Velvet Room, allowing Ren to gain control with help from Yaldabaoth (since the latter could have easily done it, being a technical 'god'). I will also add that this applies to their abilities as well (hence why they didn't try to escape from the cell that way).**

 _ **'Ren Amamiya' instead of 'Akira Kurusu'**_ **: Yes, I chose to use 'Ren' instead of 'Akira'. Apologies to those who prefer the manga name and don't like it, but I'm not familiar with the manga. Since I'm used to hearing 'Ren' because I'm more familiar with the anime, that's why I've chosen to use this form of address. To each their own, after all.**

 _ **Ren's** **Motives**_ **: In regards to Ren's reasons for turning against humanity and becoming distorted, it made sense to me that he might have chosen to agree to Yaldabaoth's terms because he was just sick and tired of having crappy people walk all over him and ruin his life. Because up until that point in the game, Ren ultimately suffered a lot for the sake of other people, which got worse the higher the risks became. Even in the anime, he seemed like the type of person who would bottle up his real feelings to avoid burdening others or getting into worse situations, which would probably lead to them building up to a point where he probably couldn't take it anymore when humanity turned on him and his friends and acted ungrateful for their efforts to create a better society. A similar thing appeared to happen to some of the antagonists whose hearts were changed, such as Kaneshiro (who viewed selflessness as a weakness), so it seemed possible for Ren to become distorted in his desire to reform society of horrible people.**


	2. Chapter 2: Odd One Out

**A/N: ... Wow. I was not expecting this fanfic of mine to blow up so quickly. Within three hours of posting, I already had people's attention drawn to it. Good to know there are others out there who were looking for a Persona 5 'Good Ending' kind of fanfic. ^^' Thank you to those who have been reading, reviewing, favouriting, and following this fanfic already. Your support is greatly appreciated. I've initially posted the next chapter just so I can get the ball rolling. But expect slower updates from here on out as I have two other fanfics I'm working on and updating in two other fandoms (even if reception on those are particularly slow...). Before I get into the layout of this chapter, though, I just want to address a couple of questions and such that have popped up in the reviews.**

 **To the anon addressing Ren's motives: I have to agree with your theories, too. I did take into consideration that Ren would have probably chosen this path to initially protect his friends. This is something you'll probably see throughout this chapter. But yes, I can see where you're coming from with both theories.**

 **And to Toskie: No. The main heroine is not based on any of the main characters from either P3 or other Persona games. I'm only aware of and have played Persona 5, so if anything in this fanfic appears to hint at something from any of the other games... it's just pure coincidence. XD The main heroine is my OC, and you'll see that within this chapter.**

 **From here on out, the chapters are going to follow a similar structure to the game regarding points of view. All first person points of view will be from my main OC's, whilst any third person scenes are just there for the sake of context of the readers from other characters. So expect the P.O.V to change quite a bit. I will also add that the events of this chapter take place a year later and follow the calendar for the year 2017 (it's been confirmed that the initial events of Persona 5 take place during the year 2016), but I've kept with the theme of not revealing the year just to make things a little less confusing.**

 **I do hope you enjoy the second chapter, though. It isn't that eventful, but it at least does its job of setting up the events.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Odd One Out

 _ **10**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [Early Morning]**_

"Hey, Verity! Get ya butt down here already!"

From where I was standing in front of the mirror in the corner of my room, I watched the eyes of my reflection droop in dismay at hearing Yuuma shouting up to me from the bottom of the stairs. But I chose not to answer him yet, keeping my focus on my black school blazer as I flattened it against my plaid school skirt. I expected him to follow up with another remark, which he proved me right about when I heard him yell up to me again.

"Auntie Chouko wants to see you in your uniform before we head out! So, hurry it up!"

"I heard you the first time, Yuuma!" I yelled back with the roll of my eyes, having a quick glance down towards my black tights and shoes to make sure they were in order. "Don't rush me! I don't want to get into trouble on my first day!"

"You'll get into trouble anyway _if you're late_! I normally don't care about that crap, but I've got you as extra luggage-!"

" _Yuuma_!"

I started chuckling in amusement and smiling at myself in the mirror when Yuuma was interrupted by my Mom's strict tone of voice, continuing to listen to their conversation as I glanced at my face's reflection one last time.

"Don't say those things about your cousin!"

"I didn't mean it like that! I was just saying-!"

"And yet you wonder why your parents sent you to me for the year… You should be taking your education a little more seriously, not because of Verity."

" _Ugh. Not this again…_ "

I switched my gaze between my blonde braids resting against the front of my shoulders and my own green eyes staring back at me to see how they contrasted against my uniform, soon shaking my head in dismay.

' _My natural hair colour is going to make me stand out no matter what I do, but it looks like I won't draw extra attention with my uniform being out of place, at least.'_

" _Verity_! Hurry up before Auntie starts giving me the lecture again!"

Turning towards my bed and reaching out to grab the red strap of my shoulder bag, pulling it along as I faced the door to my room and jogged to it. I didn't bother checking to make sure I had everything I needed in my bag as I slung it over my right shoulder. I'd already done the preparation for today last night.

" _I'm coming_! _Yeesh_!"

However, I came to a sudden stop within the door upon realising I'd forgotten something important, quickly turning around and speed-walking back into my room towards my bed.

' _Oh! Almost forgot!'_

With my gaze locking with the small bright green jewel leaf attached to the silver bracelet lying atop the quilt, I grabbed it and held it close to my face for a moment, smiling proudly.

' _Can't leave this behind.'_

Sliding the bracelet onto my left wrist and making sure it was secured around my wrist and hidden away under my blazer and white shirt sleeves, I moved away from my bed and jogged for the door of my room for the second time.

By the time I'd reached the top of the stairs, I paused to briefly glance down towards the two people I already knew were waiting for me there. With one of his hands buried in the pockets of his matching plaid trousers of his school uniform and his other one rubbing at the slight spikes of his neck-length black hair, Yuuma stared back at me whilst leaning his back against the wall closest to the front door just to my left. He gave me a quick glance up and down with his drooped red eyes, clearly not looking impressed at all.

"You should have dyed your hair. You stick out like a sore thumb."

" _Yuuma_."

I watched Yuuma lean off the wall and stand up straight with a shocked blink when Mom addressed him for the second time in the last few minutes, our gazes quickly turning to her stood off to my right with her arms crossed across her orange, short-sleeved shirt. I took that as my cue to walk the rest of the way down the stairs, my eyes staying locked with Mom as she narrowed her own red eyes towards Yuuma out of disappointment at his panicked response.

" _What_?! It's true! Students of Shujin would recognise her as a foreigner straight away because of her hair!" Yuuma placed a hand to the front of his black blazer. " _I_ look more like your child than she does, and I'm your nephew! Your _blood_ -nephew!"

I paused at the bottom of the stairs and briefly switched my gaze between Yuuma's hair and my Mom's neck-length hair as she shook her head in dismay and huffed out of annoyance. He wasn't wrong. Had it not been for Mom's parted bangs, Yuuma could have been mistaken for her son.

"Blood has nothing to do with it," Mom eventually said, her expression softening as she unfolded her arms and faced me. With a proud smile, she raised her hand and gave me a light pat on the top of my head. "Ignore him, dear. You look fine. Very smart, in fact!"

I smiled a little at the compliment, watching out of the corner of my eyes as Yuuma groaned loudly and turned his body slightly to face the doorway. Mom chose to ignore him, though, her smile widening as she placed both of her hands on my shoulders.

"I can't believe it's already been four years since you've moved to Japan, and now you're starting high school…"

Mom trailed off the moment tears began to build up in her eyes, prompting my shoulders to slump in dismay as her lip quivered. She looked about ready to cry.

" _Mom_ …"

"This isn't the time to be getting emotional, Auntie Chouko," Yuuma added with a groan, having glanced back at us just as Mom pulled me in for a tight hug with a loud sniffle. "You know once the waterworks start, you won't be able to stop."

"I-I'm sorry-!" I heard her respond in an almost whiny voice, leaving me to glance Yuuma's way with drooped eyes whilst mouthing 'A little help, please?'. "It's just… it seems like only yesterday that you were welcomed into our family-"

"Verity gets it, Auntie." Yuuma interrupted as he approached Mom from behind, getting a light grip on her shoulders and slowly prying her away from me. "I promise you can cry over your 'little girl' later. But if we don't leave now, she's gonna be late."

I let out a quiet sigh as I felt Mom's hold on me disappear, turning to face Yuuma and nod to show my gratitude whilst she dabbed at her watery eyes with the back of her hand. Being five feet, five inches _and_ around the same height as your parent wasn't exactly helpful in this situation, which is why I was glad that Yuuma was six inches taller and had a good build despite his skinny arms.

With Yuuma nodding back as a form of acknowledgement, he was soon moving towards me and slipping his right arm under my left one, causing me to stumble in surprise as he pulled me close to his side.

"Anyways, we'd better get going! We'll see ya later, Auntie!"

As Yuuma turned to the door and forced me to move along with him, I glanced back to see Mom straighten herself out and turn to watch us leave with a smile and slight wave, both of which I tried to return as I was pulled across the threshold to outside once he'd opened the door.

"Bye!"

"Take care! _Look after your cousin_ , Yuuma!"

"Yeah! Yeah! I will!" Yuuma yelled back in a dismissive tone as he slowed down in his walk and gave me a chance to stand up straight and move to walk beside him.

* * *

The train ride from Yongen-Yaya to Shibuya reminded me of how crammed the subway could get when both students and working adults used it to get to where they needed to go. The entire ride there I had Yuuma holding me close against his side with an arm wrapped around my shoulders, all whilst he held onto the train handle with his other one within his reach. Every time I glanced at his face, he was continually locking eyes with any passengers who happened to be glancing my way and glaring at them as a warning to look elsewhere before he made them. Despite having felt suffocated due to his actions and the addition of the large crowds of people around, it was little acts like these that reminded me of just how protective Yuuma could get. He always made blunt comments and acted indifferent towards me whenever around my Mom, but when it was just the two of us he turned into the equivalent of an over-protective older brother. To this day, I still couldn't comprehend why he did it. But it wasn't that important to worry over right now.

Yuuma's behaviour kept up even after we'd gotten off at Shibuya Station and ended up standing on the platform for the Ginza Subway Line, keeping his arm wrapped around my shoulders and me close to his left side. As I was forced to continue standing side-by-side with Yuuma whilst we waited for the train taking us to Aoyama-Itchome to arrive, I raised a brow and glanced at his face as he kept his gaze locked onto the empty tracks for now.

"You didn't have to take what Mom said to you _this seriously_ , you know."

Yuuma briefly turned his head my way when I'd spoken, but was soon switching his gaze to the backs of a pair of female students bearing the Shujin Academy uniform and logo standing to the left of us at the front of the platform with a frown. His reaction was out of caution, as the two girls were too busy chatting away like they'd just seen something that had taken their interest. But we were both too far away to properly hear what they were saying.

"Most students at Shujin are judgemental prats," Yuuma muttered, his frown deepening as he turned his gaze back to me. "If they know you're associated with me, they should keep their distance."

I blinked in confusion.

"Why? Are you known as a bully to them or something?"

" _No_!" Yuuma's cheeks flushed a light pink from embarrassment, his gaze turning to the floor out of shame. "But an incident that occurred in last year's History class managed to convince everyone I need anger management…"

I tilted my head a little out of curiosity at this response, but chose not to question it to avoid further embarrassment on his behalf. I could only imagine the kinds of trouble my adopted cousin had managed to get himself into to prompt such a rumour…

" _No way_! The Phantom Thieves actually did that?!"

The sudden cry from one of the girls before us (specifically the one with long, brown hair tied up into a ponytail) caused me to flinch and turn my head in her direction, seeing her long, black haired friend nod with a silly grin on her face.

"Yeah! It was all over the news this morning! It came from a bunch of requests on the Phan-Site."

I gritted my teeth and focused my gaze on the crowd to my right to try to block out their conversation, as it was already obvious to me where this conversation was about to go. But their excitement proved too much for me to simply ignore.

"I'm surprised they're still finding people connected to all that shady stuff and changing their hearts! How do they know where to find them?"

"I don't know! But they're awesome for doing it! And so quickly, too!"

"They work faster than the police ever could!"

"Can you grind your teeth any louder?"

I blinked in shock and looked at Yuuma when I heard him ask his question, feeling my apparently tense jaw quickly relax. It seems I'd subconsciously started expressing my anger through my teeth instead of through words.

"Sorry…" I mumbled, raising a hand to rub at the back of my neck and switching my gaze to my shoes out of awkwardness. "I didn't realise I was doing it."

I heard Yuuma huff out of annoyance before he chose to speak again. He didn't bother lowering his voice as it was already noisy enough with the crowd's chatter drowning out each other.

"You _really_ don't like people mentioning the Phantom Thieves, do ya?"

My eyes drooped as I dared to focus back on Yuuma, seeing him staring down at me with a raised brow.

" _Really_? You're gonna open that can of worms _right here_?"

"I just don't understand why you're so affected by it," Yuuma replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I mean- _what's the big deal_? It's not like they're directly influencing you or anything!"

" _It's not that_." I said through a huff, shaking my head and folding my arms. "I just wish people wouldn't talk about them all the time."

"You're exaggerating! People don't talk about them 'all the time'!"

I raised a brow Yuuma's way to show my scepticism.

"… _Do you pay attention to the news anymore_? They're all the newscasters report on these days. You rarely ever see a news story that doesn't include them!"

Yuuma shrugged his shoulders.

"So what?"

I stared at him out of disbelief.

" _So what_? Do you hear yourself right now? You sound like everybody else who doesn't give a damn-! Mph!"

I was interrupted by Yuuma raising his hand and using it to cover my mouth, leaving me to watch as he moved his eyes towards his right as if to indicate for me to follow them. When I turned my head to do so, I saw the two female students from before staring at me with narrowed eyes. It was clearly obvious I'd been talking louder than I'd actually realised.

"Keep your voice down, Verity. You don't need to get so het up," Yuuma eventually said in a low voice, prompting him to move his hand away from my mouth as I watched the two girls eventually turn away and place their hands close to their own mouths to muffle their conversation.

I could guess I was now probably the hot topic of their gossip.

" _Sorry_ ," I replied through an annoyed huff, my eyes drooping out of shame. "I just wish people wouldn't be so accepting of the Phantom Thieves' _recent_ behaviour. They act like they're right about every change of heart they make."

"But aren't they?"

My head was quick to turn to my left when the unfamiliar voice spoke, my eyes widening in surprise when they caught sight of a male student with wavy black hair wearing Shujin Academy's uniform standing close to me and Yuuma. Behind his black glasses, grey eyes stared at me with slight interest as he dug his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

"They've been saving people's lives and bringing justice to those who are corrupt. Isn't that a good thing?"

Before I had chance to respond, I felt Yuuma's grip on me tighten and found myself being pressed against his side, feeling my body tense as he let out a low growl.

"Oi! This is a private conversation!"

The student leaned back a little out of alarm at Yuuma's defensive behaviour and reached a hand to grip at the strap of his black shoulder bag, prompting me to scowl and pull my body away from his grip.

"Yuuma! He was just stating his opinion."

"Doesn't matter! He shouldn't have been eavesdropping!"

"I'm sorry," the student started with an apology, bowing his head slightly to add further emphasis to his sincerity. "I couldn't help but overhear, and it got me intrigued. It's very rare to hear anyone speak against them these days."

The boy raised his head and tilted it to the side as he locked eyes with me once again, with me catching sight of Yuuma mumbling something incomprehensible under his breath and turning his head away out of the corner of my eyes. Yuuma was normally very irritable around certain people who approached me, but I'd never seen him get this irritated with someone before. It made me wonder if Yuuma knew this student on a personal level.

As the student opened his mouth as if to continue to speak, the sound of the train's wheels screeching from the right side of the platform caused him to hesitate and briefly switch his gaze to the tracks. Yuuma sighed in relief at the approaching train and grabbed at my closest wrist just as I turned to face it, causing me to stumble when he started walking away towards the crowd at the front of the platform and pulling me along without warning.

"Nice chatting with ya, but we've gotta go!"

"Wait! What's your name?!"

I dug the heels of my feet into the platform to bring Yuuma to a stop when the student called out to us, prompting him to reluctantly pause with the roll of his eyes when I glanced back at the student still within close range. I could hear the train's screeching beginning to slowly die away, so I answered promptly to avoid delaying all three of us.

"Verity Achikita."

The student gave my uniform a quick look up and down before focusing his gaze back on my face, offering me a kind smile.

"I hope we can continue this discussion some other time. I'd love to hear your side of things."

I blinked in surprise at his remark, but my surprise was fleeting when Yuuma roughly pulled me forward and forced me to jog to keep up with his hurried walk to the nearest train door just as it opened.

" _Of course you do_! She'll see you later! _Bye_!"

I scowled at Yuuma's reply as he guided me across the threshold into the closest carriage to us, turning to face him when he grabbed the nearest train handle and gave me the chance to straighten myself out despite not releasing my wrist.

"That was rude of you."

With a frown of his own, Yuuma glanced down at me the moment I heard the doors to the carriage closing somewhere close by.

"… You should stay away from him."

"... What?" Caught off guard by Yuuma's reply, I raised both of my brows out of confusion. "Why should I stay away?"

Yuuma furrowed his brow for a moment in thought, staying quiet as if contemplating his response. But soon he was closing his eyes and huffing in annoyance when we felt the train slowly starting to move, prompting him to shake his head and let go of my wrist so he could wrap his arm around my shoulders again.

"… I'll tell ya later." He paused to open an eye and glance my way again. "Just promise me you'll stay away from him until I do, okay? You've gotta trust me on this one, Verity. I'm not just saying it for the sake of it."

And I could tell that from the tone of his voice. Yuuma sounded fed up, but I could hear the concern shining through. It was obvious there was something about this guy that crossed him the wrong way.

Although I was tempted to ask further out of curiosity, I chose to respect his privacy and leave the discussion until he was ready to bring it up again.

"… Fine. I'll stay away."

" _Thank you_."

Turning my gaze away to stare at the passengers standing and sitting opposite us, I shook my head at finding myself unable to watch the passing scenery through the windows just behind them.

' _Why can't Yuuma just be straightforward with me for once…?'_

* * *

 _ **10**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [Morning]**_

With his hands buried in the pockets of his school uniform, Ren stood before the open school gates of Shujin Academy whilst staring up at the three-floored building's front entrance in silence. It was hard for him to believe that a year had already gone by since he'd first transferred to this school, and the adventure it had taken him on as a result was one he had least expected.

"It's almost been a year, huh?"

Ren turned his head slightly towards the childish voice that had sounded from his shoulder bag, his grey eyes locking with the bright blue ones of the black and white cat staring at him through the small opening of his zip at the back.

"A year since you and Ryuji first encountered Kamoshida's Palace, a year since we first met, and almost a year since the Phantom Thieves were officially formed… It's hard to believe how much has happened since then."

Ren gave Morgana a nod of agreement, deciding not to speak for the moment so he didn't draw attention to himself from the other students continually walking past him. It was bad enough they could probably hear Morgana meowing a lot and wriggling around inside his bag, but the last thing he needed was them thinking he was insane for having a full-blown conversation with a cat. The rumours regarding his probation during the year before were already too much for him…

"I'm surprised you chose to stay on at Shujin for your final year of high school," Morgana continued, briefly pausing so he could turn his head a little more to face Ren better. "But thinking about it, that probably sounded like the easiest option given your situation."

And Ren agreed with another nod, recalling when his official probation ended back in the spring of this year. He was forced to bid a temporary goodbye to his friends and return home (with Morgana in tow when the feline had decided to stick with him in the belief he could find a way to become human somehow), but it wasn't long before he'd spoken to his parents about staying on at Shujin for his final year of high school (seeing as his former high school had originally expelled him). Sojiro had been more than happy to allow Ren to return to Café Leblanc for another year when his parents addressed the matter with him, and long story short Ren soon found himself returning to Tokyo for yet another year; record free, of course.

Ren was quickly brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Morgana chuckling in amusement, his eyes briefly glancing around him to see that the number of students outside of the academy had thinned quite a bit.

"Still, the reactions from the others was priceless! Typical of Ryuji not to stop talking about throwing you a 'welcome back' party when we can all get together again. He'll probably do the same with the official anniversary of the Phantom Thieves too, I bet!"

Ren gave the area another quick glance before deciding to speak this time, turning his head away from Morgana to allow a sly smile to appear.

"That's just like Ryuji." _'Which is how it should be. They definitely don't seem to remember what happened in the Depths of Mementos and after once I'd freed them from the Velvet Room.'_

Ren paused to let out a quiet huff of relief and closed his eyes.

' _My friends are as oblivious of the current state of things as the citizens of Tokyo, which is for the best. There's no way they'd forgive me for going against what we set out to do. And I'd rather them not get caught up in this mess. Speaking of which…'_

Ren opened his eyes when he furrowed his brow in thought, finding himself recalling his earlier encounter with that young Shujin student and her angry-looking friend.

'… _what was her name again? 'Verity Achikita', right?'_

His eyes narrowed as he was reminded of some of the things he'd heard her say about the Phantom Thieves, which appeared to contradict anything that should have been remotely positive.

' _ **I just wish people wouldn't be so accepting of the Phantom Thieves'**_ **recent** _ **behaviour. They act like they're right about every change of heart they make.'**_

' _She sounded sharp; a little_ _ **too**_ _sharp for someone whose will is supposed to be suppressed.'_

"Hey, daydreamer!"

Ren's shoulders stiffened and his eyes widened with surprise when he heard Morgana speak up and bring him back to reality, his head turning to face the feline as he gave a scowl of disapproval.

"You're gonna be late! You need to set a good example as leader of the Phantom Thieves! Don't be tardy!"

"… Right," Ren responded with a mutter as he watched Morgana duck his head back inside his bag.

Facing the steps to the academy once more, Ren started to jog up them to reach the school's entrance, inwardly sighing in relief at the fact his classroom was now on the first floor instead of the second. However, that didn't stop him from briefly frowning as his thoughts returned to the earlier topic before Morgana's interruption.

' _I might just be overthinking things. But I'll make sure to keep my eye on that girl. She sounds like she's going to be trouble for us at some point…'_

* * *

"This school is weird," I said to Yuuma as we walked side-by-side through the bustling crowds of first-years walking through the third-floor corridor of the academy, probably being like me and heading to their homeroom teachers for their official introduction to the new school year. "And I'm not just saying that because of the school building resembling a _prison_. Although whoever chose the name of the academy was obviously alluding to that somehow."

Yuuma snorted in amusement and lifted his head back a bit.

" _Ha_! Ain't that the truth?!"

"I mean, if second-years are on the second floor, then the first-years should be on the first instead of the third-years, right? Why put it in reverse order and make things confusing?"

"I've been asking that since my first day here. Heck, I think everyone else has, too."

"And yet they still haven't done anything about it?"

"Nope. They most likely don't care."

"I bet."

When Yuuma came to a stop before a bright yellow door with a diamond-shaped window to our left I was quick to copy, briefly glancing up to the rectangle sign sticking out above it that read '1-D' in bold, black lettering before focusing on Yuuma again. There were two doors to the classroom separated by a large gap of wall, with the door furthest away leading to the front and the one closest to us leading into the back of the room.

With a wide grin on his face Yuuma reached out a hand to give my hair a quick ruffle, prompting my shoulders to tense a little.

"Here we are: Class 1-D! You should be okay to go on by yourself. If you need me, I'll be on the floor below. And remember, if anyone gives you any kind of trouble…" Yuuma paused to wink and retract his hand. "… just say you're the cousin of 'Yuuma Hashimoto'! They should leave ya alone, then!"

" _I highly doubt it, considering the first-years have no clue who you are_ ," I replied, allowing an amused smile to appear. " _But thanks_."

"You're welcome."

Yuuma was quick to turn around and start jogging down the corridor, but briefly glanced back and raised two fingers to give me a small salute when he was halfway away.

"Good luck!"

My smile widened as I shook my head and continued to watch him go, waiting until he'd disappeared around the wall to the stairs before I dared to face my new classroom for the rest of the year. Reaching a hand up to grip tightly at the strap of my bag around my shoulder, I took a step closer towards the door and leaned forward so I could glance into the room through the window, giving myself a chance to get a good look at what I was dealing with.

Most of the class had already gathered and occupied the desks towards the front and middle of the room (whether they were sat _at_ the desks or _on_ the desks), causing me to swallow loudly at the number of students currently in attendance. There were more here than I thought there were going to be.

' _Yikes. Students here are pretty prompt with attendance, huh? Then again, this is an 'elite' school…'_

The moment my eyes fell upon the unoccupied desk at the back of the row closest to the window, though, I let out a quiet sigh of relief and straightened out my stance.

' _At least I can hide away at the back of the room and not draw attention.'_

Taking a deep breath and reaching out my free hand for the door, I paused for a moment to give myself a little more time to mentally prepare. My hand was shaking slightly by the time I'd gotten a grip on it, but I made no move to pull it away.

' _Okay, Verity. Middle School was a bust. But this is a fresh start; new school, new year. Now's your chance to forget the past. And who knows? Maybe you'll actually make some friends this time.'_

With my thoughts stopping there, I scowled and pushed the door open from left to right, taking two steps across the threshold before glancing in the direction of the other students in the classroom. The students continued chatting away to one another loudly without turning their gazes away from the people in their small groups or pairs, giving me the reassurance I needed to walk inside and head straight for the desk I'd been targeting.

' _So far so good. They haven't taken notice of me.'_

I continued my way towards the furthest desk on the back row as quietly as I could, pulling the chair behind it out and sitting down without saying a word. As I lifted my bag from my shoulder and placed it on the hook provided on the left side of the desk, I dared to glance once more around the room at the gathered students. I smiled a little to myself out of triumph at seeing no one focusing their attention my way for now, deeming my infiltration into the classroom a technical success.

' _Heh. Looks like things are finally starting to go my way-'_

" _Hey_ , aren't you the girl from Shibuya Station?!"

I blinked in surprise and glanced in the direction of the familiar sounding voice, only to have my eyes widening at the two girls who were standing close to my desk. The brown-haired ponytailed girl on the left was frowning at me with blue eyes and crossed arms, whilst her black long-haired friend had her hazel eyes narrowed my way.

I was quick to recognise them as the female students who had glared at me whilst waiting for the train, causing me to gulp quietly and lean back a little in my seat.

'… _I spoke too soon. I never would have guessed these two girls were also first-years in the same class as me.'_

Before I even had a chance to open my mouth to speak, the girl with the ponytail beat me to it with her voice raised loud enough for everyone else in the room to hear.

"It is! _You're_ the one who was slandering the Phantom Thieves!"

The moment those words left her mouth, the chatter in the classroom died down in an instant. I dared to glance in the direction of the other students to see their heads immediately turning towards me, with what sounded like confused mutters already starting to sprout up from specific students. I wasn't able to make out what they were saying, but that wasn't important. The situation felt like when a hunter steps on a twig and a deer raises its head in the direction of the noise they'd just heard with alarm. I was the hunter, the girls were the twig, and the class were the deer.

The longer I stared at the many eyes now staring back at me, the sooner I started to feel the sweat gather on my forehead. My eyes were soon focusing back on the two girls, though, when the one with the black hair decided to give her two cents into this situation before the other followed. It was obvious now they'd purposely done this to intimidate me into responding to them.

"What's your problem?! What have you got against the Phantom Thieves?!"

"Yeah! Why do you hate them?!"

I was quick to bring my hands to my lap when I balled them into fists and rested them on my skirt, taking the opportunity to take in a deep breath to make sure I was calm. The two girls had fallen quiet for the moment as the class continued to stare at the three of us in silence, all of them waiting for me to answer. But I found myself physically unable to speak, with my nerves getting the better of me and keeping me silent.

I wasn't like Yuuma. Although I usually wasn't afraid to speak my mind and state my opinion, there were times where I knew better than to say anything I was going to regret. I only ever did so during discussion where differing opinions were accepted. These girls seemed like the type to gang up on anyone who disagreed with them and attempted to turn others against the target, whether it be out of superiority or just for their amusement. I'd come across these types before…

' _Don't respond. Don't respond. Don't respond.'_

My silence prompted the scowl on the ponytailed girl's face to deepen.

" _Hey_! We're talking to you! Say something!"

I pursed my lips to further encourage my silence on the subject, causing the girl with the black hair to smirk in amusement as the whispers around the room started up again. _This time_ I was able to hear what some of them were saying.

"Someone hates the Phantom Thieves? That's new."

"Maybe those girls are lying. I mean, it sounds pretty ridiculous, don't you think?"

"I don't know. You'd think someone who was innocent would have spoken up by now."

"So, does that mean what they're saying is true?! That girl was talking bad about the Phantom Thieves?!"

"She's probably just attention seeking."

"Why doesn't she just say something already?!"

"What's the matter?" The black-haired girl eventually said, her smirk widening at the sarcasm dripping from her tone. "You were more than willing to express your opinion before. Did you get cold feet because you have an audience listening in now?"

Feeling my fists shaking in my lap, I turned my gaze towards the front of the room and took another deep breath in, locking my eyes with the blackboard and ignoring all other faces and objects around me. I was getting a sudden sense of déjà vu from middle school washing over me, and I wasn't liking it one bit. Even though the bullying back then was based on the fact I was a foreigner, I had a feeling the girls would eventually bring that into this discussion somehow…

Despite my efforts to block them out, however, the brown-haired girl became a little more daring and moved so that she was standing in front of my desk, placing her hands flat on the wooden surface and leaning forward so she was a small distance away from my face. Her eyes narrowed as they wandered around different parts of my face, and it didn't take long for me to realise the reason why she appeared to be scrutinising my looks.

"She doesn't even look like she's from here! I bet you're just some dumb foreigner who has no clue who the Phantom Thieves are!"

My eyes drooped in dismay when the whispers around the room started again, leaving me to catch a few of the comments here and there as I turned my gaze towards the window.

"She's right. She doesn't look like she was born in Japan."

"Well, that explains it! She must be clueless!"

"I bet she didn't even realise she was attending the school where the Phantom Thieves became famous!"

"Her silence isn't helping her case right now."

"I know, right?! Why doesn't she retaliate?! I feel like we're not getting the whole story!"

"She's probably scared the Phantom Thieves are going to come after her or something for speaking against them."

' _All it takes is one person to open their mouth and the rest will follow like obedient sheep; just like when it comes to the Phantom Thieves. Keep talking. You're only proving my point.'_

"Don't turn away from me!" I heard the brown-haired girl yell at me, which was quickly followed by her hands gripping at my shoulders.

This action was enough to force my gaze to stare into her angry-filled blue eyes being dangerously close to my face, leaving us a nose-length gap between us. She was trying to prompt a reaction out of me, which I _really_ didn't appreciate.

"You're so rude!"

"Says the girl who's uncomfortably close to my face," I finally chose to respond in a calm but low tone of voice, causing the girl's eyes to widen in surprise and for me to hear an echo of quiet gasps going around the classroom.

They obviously were never expecting me to respond.

' _I'm getting sick of this. I need to shut her up. But in a civil manner. I can't repeat what happened the last time I was in a similar situation…'_

"E-Excuse me-?!" The girl stuttered in a surprised tone that she attempted to sound annoyed with, but failed miserably at.

The whispers were quick to spring up again as I lifted my still shaking fists to my desk and prepared to continue speaking.

"She spoke!"

" _Ouch_. That was harsh."

"She has a sharp tongue."

"At least she finally said something…"

"And for your information, although I wasn't born in Japan, I've lived here for _four years_. So I know _very well_ who the Phantom Thieves are and what they do."

I paused when the girl released my shoulders and leaned away from me with her mouth gaped open, prompting her friend still stood off to the side to finally move forward with a scowl of her own. At least from what I could see from the corner of my eyes.

"So why did you say all that rotten stuff about them back at the station, huh?! If you really knew about them, you wouldn't have been slandering them-"

" _It wasn't slander_."

I interrupted the other girl and turned my gaze to her with a calm blink, watching her hazel eyes widening in shock as I relaxed my hands and brought them close to my middle.

"I don't _hate_ the Phantom Thieves. But that doesn't mean I blindly agree with everything they do. I'm allowed to have a different opinion, you know. Or have you never heard of 'free speech' before?"

I paused to briefly turn my gaze towards the other students in the class now gaping at me from different parts of the room.

"I'd be more than happy to explain to you two and the rest of the class why I think this way… _if you're willing to act like adults_ , of course." I tilted my head to the side as I focused my glance between the two girls in front of me and to my side. "However, it seems like you two would rather play the blame game, so I'd rather not waste my breath."

Silence fell around the classroom as every single pair of eyes still on me continued to gape my way, leaving me to focus my gaze once more in the direction of the window. It lingered for some time before the sound of the door at the front of the room sliding open drew everyone's attention (including mine), revealing a man who I assumed was our homeroom teacher walking into the room.

"Time to settle down, class."

My gaze briefly crossed with the two girls to see them taking the initiative and finally moving away from me to take their designated seats, with the other students who were sitting on their desks quickly moving to sit down in their chairs instead. I let out a quiet sigh of relief at finally gaining momentary respite from this pointless fussing.

' _Saved by the teacher.'_

I continued to watch them even as the two girls seated themselves at the desks a row and two to three seats away from me, even when they both dared to briefly glance my way and scowl at me in a disapproving manner. They clearly didn't like how bold I'd been back there, and thus were giving me a potential warning that they were coming back for blood the second they got the chance to.

But I wasn't concerned by this at all, instead choosing to focus my gaze on the teacher once he'd set his stuff down at his desk and had begun addressing the class. Reaching my left hand under my cheek so I could lean against it and resting my elbow on my desk, I closed my eyes and huffed out of annoyance to get rid of my final thoughts on the situation before I focused on school for the rest of the day.

' _There go my chances of starting over. I can't catch a break, can I?'_


	3. Chapter 3: Cogs of Fate

**A/N: Once again, I would like to thank everyone who has been reviewing, favouriting, following, and for even just reading this fanfic in general, really. I am very glad to see that people are really engaging with this story of mine, despite most of it purely being based on my interpretations of how I would think events would have gone with a third party... ^^' But yeah. Onto answering questions.**

 **To PhD Flopper: Yeah. The Good Ending was rather ambiguous regarding the fate of the rest of the Phantom Thieves. Whilst it did seem like they remained trapped in the Velvet Room, I would have thought that by Yaldabaoth re-instating the Phantom Thieves back into the public's cognition, the others would have regained their existence (seeing as but a small few would have known about the true identities of the Phantom Thieves). Not to mention Ren probably wouldn't have wanted to leave them in the Velvet Room, either. But hey, that's just my interpretation of things.**

 **And to the anon asking about Verity's country origins... you're gonna find out in this chapter. XD I had yet to reveal it out right for the soul reason that I needed to find a moment where I could put it in naturally and not have it seem forced. Plus, it keeps you readers hooked for wanting to find out more, so... XD**

 **Stay tuned for more end notes at the bottom of this fanfic, as I reveal information I can't reveal here due to technical spoilers(?)... I'm not entirely sure if it is, but just in case it'll be in the end notes. I should also point out that I've had to set the formatting regarding the IM messages in this way since this site have a thing against 'chat-like' formatting, so I apologise if you find it difficult to follow the message conversations that pop up in this chapter and future chapters onward. I tried my best to make it stand out and as obvious as possible. But I do hope you enjoy the third chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Cogs of Fate

 _ **10**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [Lunchtime]**_

The classes that followed had been enough to give me a temporary escape from the two girls and further criticism. But I'd been unable to take my eyes off the clock in the room with the knowledge that any breaks we had between classes would leave me open for fire again, and I couldn't help dreading the thought. However, when lunchtime did roll around, the two girls chose to leave the room instead of coming after me for what happened earlier today, allowing me to relax and eat my lunch in peace. Of course, everyone else in the class chose to keep their distance as well, including the ones who stayed in the classroom, so I still found myself alone.

As the few other remaining students in the classroom went about eating their lunches and socialising with one another, I stayed sat at my desk with my phone resting in front of me, staring at the text message Yuuma had just sent me with drooped eyes whilst I slipped my empty lunchbox back into my bag still hanging on the hook.

' **How's ya first day going? I would've come up to see ya but I didn't wanna freak out any of your new friends,'** it said.

' _I figured he'd check up on me at some point… Mom should be at work by now, so it's possible she coaxed him into doing it in her stead.'_

Picking my phone up into my palms, I sighed in defeat and started to type my reply as fast as my thumbs would allow me to go. I'd already eaten my lunch by now, so I had some extra time to kill before our next class started.

' _Oh, well. I should probably tell him the truth. He would have found out eventually.'_

' **Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no friends for you to scare. In fact, I doubt anyone wants to be my friend after what happened this morning…'**

Yuuma was fast when it came to typing, so it was literally under a minute before I saw his reply pop up in the chat in all caps.

' **WHAT?! WHY?! WHAT HAPPENED?!'**

I leaned back a little in my chair and cringed before responding, being able to clearly imagine his voice yelling that to my face.

' **Remember those two girls from Shibuya Station?'**

' **Ya mean the ones who glared at ya 'cause of our conversation?'**

' **Uh-huh. Turns out they're first-years in my class.'**

' **Seriously?!'**

' **Seriously.'**

' **What did they do?'**

' **They caused a scene and called me out in front of the whole class for saying what I did about the Phantom Thieves.'**

' **ARE YA KIDDIN' ME?! Goddammit!'**

I didn't respond to his message yet when I noticed the three ellipses pop up after he sent his first one, deciding to wait a moment until his second message came through. Even in chat, Yuuma messaged the same way he spoke.

' **Do ya need me to come up to your classroom and give 'em a piece of my mind?'**

I shook my head in dismay.

' _Of course the first thing that pops into his head is somehow related to him coming up here and sorting them out. Oh, Yuuma...'_

' **I'm fine. They're not here anyway. And I stood my ground and forced them to back off for now. Although they certainly weren't happy about it…'**

There was a brief pause as the ellipses popped up before Yuuma's next message came through. It seemed like he was trying to gather his words together carefully.

' **Is anyone else giving ya trouble? Seriously, if ya want me to come to keep ya company and show 'em what for, I will!'**

' **Just leave it, Yuuma. Everyone else has kept their distance. They aren't bothering me.'**

Another long pause followed before Yuuma's response came through. He must have been really angry about this whole situation, more so than myself…

' **Ugh. This is just typical! You've already been put through enough crap through middle school, and even before ya came to Japan! This was supposed to be better for ya, but it's just as bad! They shouldn't be singling ya out like this just for being a foreigner!'**

I momentarily turned my gaze away from the phone screen to stare at the bracelet poking out from under my blazer sleeve, my eyes locking with the jewel leaf attached to it.

'… ' _Supposed to be better', huh?'_ My grip around my phone tightened a little. _'I'd argue it could be worse.'_

The loud beep sounding from my phone to indicate the arrival of another message caused me to flinch and focus my gaze back on the chat, prompting me to blink in surprise when I saw Yuuma's message.

' _Right. Forgot what I was doing for a sec.'_

' **Crap. Sorry. Shouldn't have brought that up.'**

I knew he was referring to the remark he made about the time before I came to Japan.

' **Forget it, Yuuma. It doesn't matter. And besides, they were more focused on my opinions than my country of origin. Although that did become a thing further into the debate…'**

' **I told ya to dye your hair.'**

' **That would have made me stand out more! Aside from my looks it isn't as obvious I'm not from here. I lost my former accent ages ago.'**

' **Ha! Don't remind me! The first time I heard ya speak to me in English with that strange accent of yours, I was creasing! Ya sounded so funny!'**

A small smile of amusement appeared on my face when I read the message, but I decided to convey a different emotion as I typed back in reply. I knew Yuuma had just done that to try to cheer me up.

' **Well, excuse me for being British! And isn't you making fun of my former accent contradicting your anger towards others who have done it?'**

' **I'm your cousin! I'm allowed to make fun of ya!'**

' **Not by blood you're not~…'**

' **Auntie said it didn't matter~!'**

I paused when I felt my smile widen at the chuckle that eventually escaped me, prompting me to shake my head.

' **Okay. You got me there.'**

There was momentary silence from Yuuma when I saw the ellipses appear in the chat, but when the next message of his popped up I was left raising a brow in surprise as I read it.

' **Speaking of Shibuya Station, though… You know the guy who spoke to ya earlier today and who I told ya to stay away from?'**

' _Looks like he's finally decided to tell me. He's probably trying to change the topic for my sake.'_

' **Yeah…?'**

' **Well, he's a dude who got transferred here last year on probation for assault.'**

My eyes widened in surprise at this revelation, but it wasn't enough surprise to stop me from typing my response.

' **Assault?!'**

' **Yup.'**

' **Who did he assault?!'**

' **I'm not sure. Most people were saying it was some rich guy he injured. A witness testified against him and everything.'**

' **Really? I find that hard to believe. He doesn't look like the type of person who'd go and assault anyone.'**

' **Uh-huh. I mean, I got this information through the rumour mill, so I can't say for certain it's true. But from what I saw of him during my first year, he came off as the quiet and distant type.'**

' **At least that explained why you were so tense. You were like a dog keeping a close eye out for his owner.'**

' **Hey!'**

I took a hand away from under my phone to cover my mouth and muffle the sound of my chuckles at Yuuma's reaction. But they didn't last long once the ellipses briefly appeared and were quickly replaced by Yuuma's next message.

' **Still, promise me you'll be careful around him, yeah? I know I can't stop him from talking with ya. But something about his reaction towards ya today just didn't sit right with me.'**

I expected Yuuma to add something else on to that message, which he soon proved right when the ellipses flashed up before I even had chance to decide how I long I should wait to reply. But whilst I waited for his next message I found myself furrowing my brow in thought.

' _Yuuma's right. Since expressing my opinion on the Phantom Thieves outside of my own home, I've been met with hostility. There could be others out there who are like me, no matter how few. But if the rumours about this student are true…'_

I focused my attention on my phone again when I heard the beep that told me Yuuma's message had come through.

' **And I'm not just saying that! I really mean it!'**

' **I know, I know. I promise I'll be careful anyway. After what happened today, I'd rather not go through something similar again.'**

' **Anyways, lunch is nearly over so I'll let ya go. I'll wait for ya at the gates after school.'**

' **Got it. See ya.'**

' **Remember to message me if ya need me, and I'll come running.'**

' _I know you will, Yuuma.'_

I exited the chat and prepared to return my phone to the pocket inside of my back. But just as I returned to the home screen and turned to face my bag, my gaze was drawn to a specific app that was on the bottom row of my screen; one I didn't recognise.

' _What the…?'_

I frowned and brought my phone a little closer to my face to get a better look at this app, which was coloured black and red and depicted an eye with a star acting as its pupil. I couldn't see any name for the app underneath the icon either, which only caused my frown to deepen out of suspicion.

' _Weird… I don't remember downloading and installing an app like this. It doesn't even have a name.'_

Pushing my thumb down on the icon until it started to shake and the tiny 'x' popped up on its top left corner, I was quick to select the latter and watch the app disappear from my phone screen without even bothering to check it out. Hearing the school alarm going off outside the classroom shortly after to indicate the end of our lunch break, I turned to face my bag again and reached my phone towards the inside pocket.

' _It might be malware or something that somehow got on my phone. I'd better delete it just in case and try to find out more information on it from the internet later. It's better to be safe than sorry, after all...'_

* * *

 _ **10**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [After School]**_

"I can't believe you travelled to school all by yourself, Futaba! You've really come a long way!"

Ren glanced towards Futaba (dressed in the Shujin Academy's female uniform) walking in front of him when Ann (who was walking beside Futaba) gave her some praise, watching as a triumphant grin grew on the younger girl's face as they made their way through the streets of Yongen-Yaya.

"What can I say?" Futaba paused to glance behind her at Ren, her grin widening slightly. "It's all thanks to my key item!"

Ann raised a brow out of confusion and turned to look back at Ren with a blink to match, prompting the frizzy-haired teen to smile in amusement and shrug his shoulders.

"What?"

"It's a long story," was all he chose to say, ignoring the muffled chuckles of Morgana coming from his bag. "But I had nothing to do with it. You made the journey on your own, even though I offered to accompany you."

"Like a game protagonist completing a main objective!" Futaba added, punching a fist towards the air as she faced forward. "It was surprisingly not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Despite the large number of people I didn't know. But I just pretended they were NPCs I didn't have to interact with." Her eyes drooped. "Although that didn't work out as well at school…"

Ann shook her head in dismay when she turned away, with Morgana poking his head slightly through the gap in the bag.

"It's good to see you're adjusting okay, though, Futaba."

"By the way, has anyone else heard from Ryuji today?" Ann asked, quickly changing the topic as she pulled her phone from her pocket and briefly glanced at the screen to check for any new messages. "He said something in the chat earlier about planning a one-year anniversary party for the Phantom Thieves…? I think that's why he's not here with us."

"Typical Ryuji…" Morgana muttered before huffing. "Looks like he remembered the date after all."

"May 5th, right?"

"Yeah," Ren answered Ann with a slight nod, causing her to turn back to him with a surprised blink.

"Wow. It's almost been a year, huh?" Ann paused when she found herself smiling a little out of reminiscence. "It feels like only yesterday that we beat Kamoshida and started the Phantom Thieves, doesn't it?"

"It sure does, Lady Ann," Morgana replied with a nod and a smile that matched her own, aside from revealing his little cat teeth. "I think it would be nice to commemorate the formation of the team." Morgana turned his head between Futaba, Ann and Ren once and left his gaze on the latter. "What do you guys think?"

Futaba turned so she was walking backwards and glancing Ren's and Morgana's way, clasping her hands together behind her back.

"I think Ryuji should get a job as a party planner!"

"I disagree," Ann added on with an amused smile, reaching a hand to rub at the back of her head as the trio turned the corner towards Café Leblanc. "We still haven't gotten around to having Ren's 'welcome back' party because of our schedules conflicting with Haru's and Makoto's. They're off doing their own things now, so it's kinda hard to find a day where we all can get together. It does feel weird not seeing them at school anymore, though."

Ren hummed in agreement as he was the last one to start turning the corner towards the path that led to Café Leblanc, but he soon came to a stop when he happened to glance behind him towards the way they'd just walked. Whilst Ann and Futaba continued walking on ahead (oblivious to their friend no longer following them as the latter faced forward to talk to the former), Ren's gaze fell upon two teenagers in the Shujin Academy's uniform heading down towards where he stood, causing him to blink in surprise when he recognised them after staring for a few seconds longer.

"Those are the two we saw at Shibuya Station this morning, yeah?"

Ren's gaze briefly switched to Morgana when he heard him speak, seeing his head still poking out of the gap in his shoulder bag as he nodded. When he focused back on Verity, though, he noticed her posture was slouched, like she was fed up with something. Her friend didn't look too pleased either when Ren glanced his way, seeing the annoyed scowl on his face and his hands balled into fists at his front as he yelled about something he couldn't properly hear.

As the pair grew closer, however, Ren turned and started to walk away again without drawing any attention towards himself. This wasn't the time for him to question Verity about what she'd said earlier today, and he didn't really fancy getting yelled at by Verity's friend again.

With Ann and Futaba having stopped by Café Leblanc's entrance to wait for him to catch up, Ren glanced down at Morgana when he heard him speak again.

"Huh. Looks like they live around here, too. What a small world."

' _A small world, indeed…'_

As Ren caught up to the others and watched Futaba head inside the café, he dared to turn his head to glance behind him once more at the area behind him. A small smirk made its way onto his face.

' _Keeping an eye on her has just become a tiny bit easier.'_

"Hey, you okay?"

Ren's smirk dimmed into a smile as he heard Ann question his wellbeing, prompting him to face her again and tilt his head to the side.

"I'm fine. Let's head inside."

* * *

 _ **10**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [Evening]**_

Lying down on my bed in the dark with only the light from the hallway outside streaming in, I turned my head in the direction of my open bedroom door at the faint sound of the phone ringing from downstairs, followed by Yuuma's hurried footsteps making a dash for it.

"I'll get it!"

I wouldn't have answered it anyway, so Yuuma's yelling was pointless. But it was obvious to the both of us who was calling.

' _It's probably Mom ringing from work to see how things went at school today. And Yuuma took the initiative to speak in my stead.'_

I continued to listen regardless once the ringing stopped and Yuuma started talking. He wasn't aware of how loud he talked sometimes, so he had no control over the volume of his voice unless others made him aware. This was a perfect asset to my current situation.

"Hey, Auntie! How are ya? … Good, good! How's work going? The bookstore busy tonight? … Oh, right. Yeah. I suppose it wouldn't be that bad in the evening, would it?"

With my eyes drooping at Yuuma's comment, I rolled over onto my left side to hear the one-sided conversation a little better, my eyes locking with my school blazer hung over the back of my desk chair. I couldn't be bothered to change into my pyjamas or casual clothes since entering the house.

"Yeah, yeah! We're okay! … _Eh_ … _Well_ … it- it didn't go too great. … Basically, some girls called her out in front of her class for stating her opinion about something and now no one will go near her. … Yeah, she's in her room with the lights off. … _No_ , I didn't get myself involved! I kept out of it!"

When a long pause followed, I turned my gaze to my left wrist as I raised it a little off the bed, staring at my bracelet which I also couldn't be bothered to take off.

"Yeah, I took food up to her and she ate it. But she hasn't left her room since coming home."

Another long pause followed before I heard Yuuma sigh heavily out of annoyance.

"I know it isn't fair, Auntie. She's been through hell already with that whole mess with her Dad-"

I rolled over onto my back and moved my hands to cover my ears so I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, squeezing my eyes shut and not daring to open them. It didn't take long before I felt my body starting to tremble and my breathing grew heavy, prompting me to shake my head back and forth multiple times. I knew exactly what was happening and I didn't like it one bit.

' _Dammit, Yuuma! And dammit me for thinking it would be safe to eavesdrop!'_

The minute my chest started to hurt I knew my method wasn't helping me in the slightest, forcing me to open my eyes and roll over onto my right side. I'd left my phone and earphones lying next to my pillow, and I was soon reaching out for them both when it felt like I was struggling to breathe. But I knew I was fine physically.

My shaking hands made it difficult for me to insert the earphones into the jack on my phone, but after a minute of constant missing I managed to push it in and complete the task of placing them in my ears. I swallowed thickly as I felt the palpitations starting, prompting me to open my music playlist and scroll down for the song I knew would help to calm me down.

' _Come on, come on! It's getting worse!'_

I stopped when I found the track I was looking for and pressed on it to play without hesitation, letting out a quiet sigh of relief when I heard the music sound through my earphones. Turning over onto my back again as the trembling slowly started to cease, I closed my eyes and focused on regulating my breathing as the voice of 'Alison Moyet' filled my ears at a loud volume with the lyrics of 'Windmills of Your Mind'.

" _Round like a circle in a spiral~, like a wheel within a wheel~. Never ending or beginning on an ever-spinning reel~…"_

As the song continued to play I felt my body slump and relax against the bed, finally putting me at ease as I allowed the music to drown out everything around me. Hearing it again after so long prompted my thoughts to reflect back on its importance to me.

' _I used to hear this song all the time, ever since I was three years old. He would always sit in his armchair in the evenings with me on his knee and play this record for hours. It was her favourite song and favourite British singer.'_

I paused with my thoughts to open my eyes, my gaze locking with my bedroom ceiling through the dark and dim lighting as Alison sang specific lines of the song that always caught my at least had started to after the _incident_ …

" _Pictures hanging in a hallway, and a fragment of a song~. Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong~?"_

' _The song seems to be interpreted from the point of view of someone looking back on their time with past lovers. But just like him, I've ended up becoming attached to this song for my past as well as my country of origin. Those lines get to me every time… regarding the things I can't remember and some of which I want to forget.'_

I raised my left arm above me and locked my gaze on my bracelet once more, my eyes drooping as the song closed in on its end.

' _Why did you give me this? Why can't I remember its significance? Why did my memories have to be so jumbled up in the first place?!'_

I lowered my arm to my middle by the time the song finally came to an end, my gaze turning to my phone screen as I prepared to exit the music app.

' _It doesn't matter anyway. I've spent most of my life being a coward and running away from a truth I don't want to know. Why should I be bothered about anything else connected to it?'_

As I stopped the track and brought myself back to the home screen, my eyes were quick to widen when they spotted a certain app which I recalled seeing on my phone earlier today.

'… _Eh?! Isn't that the app that randomly appeared on my phone at lunch today?'_

I reached my other hand to my eyes and gave them both a quick rub just to be sure I wasn't seeing things, even blinking a few times in a row as an extra measure. But despite my efforts I still found myself staring into the strange-looking red eye with a star for its pupil.

'… _Well, at least I know I'm not crazy.'_

Scowling at my screen, I proceeded to repeat the same process I'd done earlier today; pressing my thumb down on the app, waiting for the little 'x' icon to pop up in its top left corner when it started to shake back and forth, and then pressing that and watching the app disappear from my phone a second time.

' _I probably didn't delete it properly the last time. I'd better make sure I check my phone tomorrow to see if it's gone for good. But_ _ **I'm sure**_ _I deleted it…'_

"Alright. I'll let her know. Love ya."

As I heard Yuuma finally end the conversation, I locked my phone and pushed myself up off my bed into a sitting position at the sound of approaching footsteps coming up the stairs.

' _Looks like he's finally come to check up on me.'_

Removing my earphones from my ears, I waited until the footsteps stopped and were replaced by three loud knocks on my bedroom door before I glanced towards it, seeing Yuuma leaning his back against it with his hands in the pockets of his black hoodie. Since arriving home, he'd chosen to switch into more casual clothing, also replacing his school trousers and shoes with a pair of blue jeans and black trainers. He was never really one to follow trends. He just wore whatever he was most comfortable in.

"… How ya doing?" he asked, prompting me to shrug my shoulders and turn my body towards him so my legs dangled over the edge of the bed.

"Okay, I guess. Was that Mom calling?"

Yuuma nodded.

"Uh-huh."

"Did you tell her about what happened today?"

Yuuma glanced towards his shoes out of shame, raising a foot and lightly poking at my bedroom floor with the tip of his shoe.

"… _Uh-huh_."

I raised a brow at this, briefly wondering why he'd be ashamed for telling her about something like this. Unless…

'… _Does he think I might have heard their whole conversation?'_

But I decided not to bring it up and continued to play dumb on the subject.

"What did she say?"

Yuuma made a clicking sound with his tongue before lifting his gaze back to me.

"Nothing much. Just how unfair things have been for you. She sounded a little worried about ya, and wanted me to let you know she sends her love."

I nodded to that out of acknowledgement as Yuuma stood up straight and moved away from the door a little, a frown of disapproval appearing.

"She also wanted me to make sure you got ready for bed. I hope ya weren't planning on sleeping in ya uniform."

I shook my head and pushed myself to stand.

"No, no! I wasn't!"

"Good. I'll let ya get ready for bed then."

Nodding with satisfaction, Yuuma turned and started to leave the room, but it wasn't long before he stopped just after stepping out into the hall and glanced my way again.

"Oh, and Verity?"

"Yeah?"

The grin that appeared on Yuuma's face was probably the goofiest one he'd ever mustered.

"Just know that even if the entire world were to turn against ya, _I_ won't be going anywhere."

I blinked in surprise as I watched Yuuma continue his walk away from my room, but it wasn't until he disappeared from my sight that I found a small smile creep onto my face.

' _You're a little complicated to read, Yuuma. But your loyalty to those you care about know no bounds. Thanks.'_

* * *

Amidst the rattling of chains, the sounds of intense scrubbing, and the frustrated growls of Caroline coming from the cell behind her, Justine let out a defeated sigh and leaned back a little on her knees away from the toilet of Cell No. 6, whose insides were covered in black grime. Taking a moment of respite from her menial labour, her lone eye glanced down towards the dirtied bristles of the toothbrush clutched in her right hand, which were now stained as black as the gloves she wore.

' _This tool is utterly useless.'_ Justine paused in her thoughts to focus her gaze on Joker through the open cell doorway, who was sitting in the chair with his feet resting on the desk and with a Maths textbook being held open close to his face. _'Although, I suppose that's exactly what the Inmate was going for when he forced this useless task on us…'_

It had been humiliating enough for Caroline and Justine when they'd found themselves being held captive in the same cell the Trickster had once been, on top of losing their control of the Velvet Room to him along with their natural abilities. But the twin wardens had naively believed that was as far as the Trickster was willing to go. They thought he was just going to keep them locked away whilst humanity slowly lost its free will to think for themselves under the rule of a god they supposedly created. The two quickly learnt, however, that their former saviour did in fact have ideas in mind regarding their 'rehabilitation', some of which included degrading and useless jobs that not even the fake Igor had dared subject them to. And as much as they had wanted to object to the Trickster's cruel and unusual requests (which they believed were revenge against them for how they'd treated him during his rehabilitation), it was against the twins' nature to disobey out of pride for their role as the former attendants of the Velvet Room, especially when 'punishment' was involved for failure to complete the task at hand. Despite having succeeded in standing against the fake Igor, their lost will of rebellion and the reality of no means of escape without their powers forced them into submission, bringing them to their current predicament.

Justine was unsure of how much time had actually passed since she and Caroline had reluctantly endured this treatment under the Trickster (including the time since they'd first been imprisoned here), but she could tell by the sounds of Caroline's growls and scrubbing getting louder that the latter was slowly getting close to breaking point…

" _Stupid Inmate forcing us to do a stupid job with a stupid tool-!_ It's not like anyone actually uses these things when they're summoned here…"

The quiet warden shook her head in dismay at hearing Caroline muttering her grievances towards their captor under her breath, prompting her to turn her gaze away towards the toilet she was supposed to be scrubbing clean. Although Justine was holding herself together better than Caroline was, she could understand Caroline's frustration towards the tasks they were given to occupy their time. The inmate hadn't made it easy for them at all, forcing them to use toothbrushes instead of actual cleaning supplies whilst remaining shackled. But then again, Justine assumed that was the whole point of the inmate's games. It was all for his amusement.

"Did you say something, Caroline?" Justine heard Joker ask in a mocking tone, briefly side-glancing him to see he hadn't moved at all from his current position.

Caroline didn't respond after that, however, which Justine noted by the sudden lack of growls and grumbles as the sounds of scrubbing filled the air instead. Joker waited a few seconds before he responded, snorting in amusement beforehand.

"… I thought not."

Justine heard Caroline snarl quietly out of anger before falling silent again and returning to her work, prompting her to lean forward to look like she was doing the same before she was penalised for 'slacking off'.

' _He has become so full of himself…'_

She did the wise thing in keeping that comment to herself.

Placing her left hand against the toilet seat and reaching her right hand in a bit so the toothbrush was hidden from sight, Justine turned her gaze down towards the green shackles around her wrists. Although she and Caroline had been submissive in the beginning, the two hadn't completely given up in trying to find a way to turn the tables on the Trickster upon Justine noticing something strange regarding the colour of their shackles and the chains that kept them sealed in their cell.

' _The colours of the shackles and chains are different to the ones we formerly used for the inmate. Caroline remembered that we were still in possession of the inmate's cell key, and when we tried it on the door we discovered it wouldn't unlock. This was enough of an indication that the lock has been changed.'_

Justine and Caroline later discovered this theory of theirs to definitely be true when they'd watched Joker open their cell for the first time, in which he'd punched the chains off instead of using Caroline's shock baton. But that was as far as the two had gotten. Although they suspected the Trickster had a key of some sort on him, they had little information to go off regarding what it was.

Justine found her thoughts once again flitting to this specific key as she started scrubbing the toothbrush against the inside of the toilet, her brow furrowing in the process.

' _I would have thought the key would be shaped like any ordinary cell key. But if the inmate has gone to such lengths to ensure we stay imprisoned, then it's possible the key has taken on a different form that isn't as obvious. It might even match the colour scheme of the chains and shackles-'_

 _SNAP._

Justine's shoulders stiffened in surprise at the 'snapping' sound that interrupted her train of thought, her gaze immediately focusing on the toothbrush still in her hand as she paused with her movements. For a second she believed she'd broken her own toothbrush, but blinked in surprise upon lifting the toothbrush and seeing it was still intact. Caroline's yelling soon cleared up Justine's confusion, though, prompting both her and Joker to turn their heads in the direction of Cell No.5.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS STUPID BRUSH BROKE! THIS IS NOT A SUITABLE TOOL FOR SUCH MENIAL LABOUR!"

And whereas Justine listened to the malicious warden's yelling with a drooped eye, Joker took the initiative to shift position and lift his legs to the floor so he was sitting up straight in the chair, placing his textbook opened out on the desk for the time being.

'… _Oh dear.'_

"What have you done now, Caroline?" Joker asked with an annoyed huff as he pushed himself to stand up.

His received response to his question was Justine watching as Joker was forced to duck at two small blue halves of something flying over his head and hitting the rug behind him with a loud thump. Caroline had thrown her toothbrush pieces at him, prompting Justine to sigh quietly as Joker stood up straight again.

' _Oh, Caroline... You and your violent streak…'_

" _Hey_ ," Joker started in an annoyed tone, reaching a hand towards the desk to pick up the shock baton and hit the end of it off the palm of his other gloved hand. " _Would someone_ like Mister Shock Baton to calm down that temper of theirs?"

" _Enough, Inmate_!"

Justine's lone eye widened as Caroline finally let her anger go, listening to the sounds of her chains rattling around and the ball shackled to her leg scrape against the floor. It wasn't until Justine heard the noises stop that Caroline continued her yelling, leaving the former to assume she'd stopped at the entrance to the cell.

"I can't take this humiliation! I won't just stand by and let you push us around anymore! _This ends now_! Let us go!"

Justine dared to glance Joker's way to see his reaction, only to find she was unable to read his expression behind his mask from where she was knelt. However, she could see the anger alighting his eyes, and that was more than enough to put her on edge.

By the time Justine was putting her toothbrush down on the floor and bringing herself to her feet, Joker was already stomping forward towards the cell where Caroline was without another word. Justine tried to move forward and pull her own shackled ball along the ground as quickly as she could, grunting a little due to the weight of it tugging her leg back. But in the end she only managed to get halfway towards her intended destination, forcing her to watch Joker reach out his free hand to snatch away Caroline's hat and bring the baton down hard against her head.

"- _Ah_!"

Justine came to a stop in the entrance to Cell No.6 when she heard Caroline cry out in pain and saw her drop to her knees before Joker, reaching both of her hands to her head and gripping at it tightly with groans and hisses. Joker let go of Caroline's hat and allowed it to drop to the floor beside her before turning his head in Justine's direction, causing the latter's shoulders to raise in alarm. As Caroline continued to vocally express her pain and curl her head towards her body, the quiet warden and the Trickster remained in their silent staring match, both waiting for the other to make a move.

It wasn't long, though, before Joker became the first to break eye contact, groaning loudly out of annoyance and turning away from both Justine and Caroline to stare towards the lone door that led to the entrance to the Velvet Room, but easily blended in with the other cells despite lacking a number above it.

"I let you off easy. Next time, it'll be a shock."

Justine and Caroline were silent as Joker started to walk away from them towards the Velvet Room's entrance, prompting the former to glance the latter's way to see the malicious girl hiding her face behind her arms and still gripping at her head. Joker spoke again as he opened the left side of his tailcoat to slot the baton into the left pocket of his waistcoat, not once glancing back as he did so.

"I'll be back. There's still time for me to stick around to make sure you complete your job."

Justine didn't look away from Caroline even as Joker made his exit from the Velvet Room, not even bothering to acknowledge him when he spoke. They knew trying to make an escape now was pointless. After all, their shackles would slow them down and without their abilities they couldn't fend the Trickster off. Not to mention they probably wouldn't be able to open the door themselves anymore…

The silence in the area was soon disturbed when Justine walked towards Caroline one step at a time, slowly dragging the ball and chain behind her as her shackles rattled with the movement. Caroline didn't move from her initial position when Justine managed to close the distance between them, remaining that way even as the latter dropped to her own knees beside her and picked her hat up from the floor. Justine could only imagine how much it must have hurt having something like that make contact with the top of your scalp…

When Caroline showed no reaction to her approach, Justine opened her mouth to speak-

"Where did we go wrong, Justine?"

"…!"

Justine hesitated and blinked in surprise when Caroline interrupted her with her question, her quiet tone being enough to catch her fellow warden off guard for a moment.

"… Huh?"

Caroline lowered her hands towards her lap and reached out one of them to take her hat from Justine without looking the other in the eye, placing her hat back on her head and pulling it down low enough for the front to hide her eyepatch and left eye from Justine's view.

"Did we put our trust in the wrong person…? Did _our master_ put humanity's fate in the wrong person's hands…?"

Justine couldn't bring herself to respond, instead furrowing her brow out of worry. She was normally the one who would question and doubt everything that was going on, which was evident enough during their time under the fake Igor. But Justine knew Caroline as the side of the two who often trusted her gut and refused to believe they had gone astray with any decisions or duties they'd had. In a way, she was the stronger of the two, at least in Justine's eyes. So to see Caroline in this state and hear her questioning their own duties and resolve was enough proof of just how much the Trickster had gotten through to her head. Justine knew Caroline wouldn't admit it out loud, but she had come to respect and bond with the Trickster just as much as she had. His supposed betrayal had clearly hurt her more than words could ever convey, even if she were to speak for the both of them.

Justine watched as Caroline lowered her head a little further and raised her shoulders, a bitter-sounding chuckle making itself known.

"Heh. This isn't like me, is it? Since when did I start doubting myself?"

Justine's frown deepened out of concern. Deciding she needed to do something to comfort Caroline, the quiet warden reached out her right arm and wrapped it around the latter's shoulders, slowly pulling her close to her side until their shoulders were touching. She didn't dare try to use both arms, as the chains on their shackles would have gotten them tangled together. To Justine's surprise, Caroline showed no negative reaction to the comforting gesture, not even making any attempts to pull away. She allowed Justine to hold her close to her side without another word, eventually bringing herself to raise a hand to cover the one Justine had on her right shoulder as a form of acknowledgement for her actions.

With the deathly silence fully taking over the Velvet Room, Justine dared to turn her gaze towards the open cell closest to the entrance; the one labelled '0' and where the pair had been imprisoned during this whole situation. Her lone right eye drooped out of shame as she and Caroline showed no signs of moving from their current stances, even with the knowledge that the Trickster would return soon and possibly reprimand them for being idle (more so in Justine's case).

' _So, it's finally come to this, huh_? _We've messed up, Caroline is finally giving up, and nobody is coming to save us.'_ Justine closed her eye and tightened her grip around Caroline a little. _'We're sorry, Master, but it looks like humanity is headed for ruin, after all…'_

* * *

 **A/N: Just for clarification, the song Verity is playing is called 'Windmills of Your Mind' and is sung by British artist 'Alison Moyet'. She isn't the original artist for this song (I think...), but her cover of it happens to be a favourite of mine, if you couldn't already tell. XD But if you guys want to look it up, there's the info for ya. ^^**


	4. Chapter 4: Resisting Temptation

**A/N: Well then... this chapter took a little longer to write than I'd initially hoped. It's the first time I've had to go back through a chapter and re-write sections because I'd changed the direction of the flow of events, or had to change specific events because they didn't make sense with the facts of the Persona 5 universe and logic in general (I screwed up a lot on the latter, and hopefully I've fixed it...). But after spending ages trying to get things together, the next update is here. Thank you again to those who have been giving this fanfic attention through reviews and such. Your support is greatly appreciated.**

 **And speaking of the reviews... I kinda expected split opinions to start popping up about Caroline and Justine at some point. XD But, as one anon reviewer summed up, the twins cared about Ren despite their behaviour towards him and had good intentions to help him from the start (although I'd argue Caroline treated Ren worse than Justine. Justine was a little more patient with him). That's initially why they're my favourite characters in the game, but... to each their own. ^^**

 **Also, the guesses I'm seeing regarding my OC's persona in the reviews had me chuckling. Not in a bad way, but because I'm the only person who knows what's going to come and that it'll probably shock some of you. I will give you a hint, though: I've put 'strange powers' in the summary for a reason. It's not going to follow what you'd probably expect.**

 **I hope you enjoy the next instalment, regardless. We're slowly closing in on the true beginning of the story, so hopefully this chapter will be the last one to properly set up the events to come. We'll have to see where my creativity flows...**

* * *

Chapter 4: Resisting Temptation

 _ **11**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [Early Morning]**_

My walk through Aoyama-Itchome towards Shujin Academy was a lonely one. With my phone held in my hand as I followed the hordes of students making their way towards the main gates, I re-read the text message Yuuma had sent me this morning before leaving for school without me.

' **Sorry, but I won't be able to walk with ya to school today. Got some business I need to take care of. Don't wait for me. I'll walk home with ya later. Keep ya chin up in the meantime!'**

' _I'm not surprised. This is normal for Yuuma. He often disappears and does his own thing without telling anyone what it is. I don't think he realises just how much he worries us sometimes… Or at least_ _ **Mom**_ _.'_

I furrowed my brow out of thought.

' _Thinking about it, Yuuma is the opposite of me. Whereas I don't like to talk about certain aspects connected to my life, he doesn't like to talk about anything that makes him upset or causes him pain. It's like he prefers to take the brunt of his problems instead of seeking help from others. It's not really a healthy way to live…'_

A weak smile crept onto my face for a few seconds at this, but was quick to disappear again before anyone noticed.

' _Ha. But I'm one to talk. I sound like such a hypocrite right now…'_

I dared to glance behind me to seek out a distraction, and found myself staring at the swarm of students conversing in their pairs or small groups as they walked in their lines, with the odd one or two who happened to be on their own jogging ahead on the sides. I recognised some of those students from my classes, so I wasn't surprised when a few of them chose to turn their eyes my way and stop talking when they saw me staring at them. I was quick to look away and hunch my shoulders to avoid further attention, but it wasn't long before I thought I heard mutters which included the term 'Phantom-Hater' being tossed around when they resumed their conversations.

' _Yuuma chose an awkward time to leave me on my own. After yesterday, I can only imagine everyone in the school probably knows I don't support the Phantom Thieves by now...'_

I raised a hand to my neck and gave it a rub at feeling the nausea beginning to creep up on me at seeing the school gates coming up on my right, prompting my eyes to droop.

' _Ugh… I don't need this right now…'_

Seeking out another temporary distraction until I could get inside the gates, I focused my gaze back on my phone as I exited the chat, soon finding myself staring into the star pupiled red-eyed app that lacked a name which was still somehow lingering on my phone. I'd already seen it once this morning when I'd checked my phone to make sure it was gone, so seeing it a second time didn't surprise me as much.

' _And that weird app is still there.'_

I let out a huff of dismay as I returned my phone to my bag, shaking my head.

' _I don't know what else to do about this. I haven't been able to find any information about that app, and consistently deleting it is not an option. The last thing I want to do is have to reset my phone-'_

"Hey. 'Verity', right?"

"…!"

I turned my head to the right at hearing the familiar voice beside me with a startled blink, only to gape upon finding my gaze crossing with the black glasses of the male student I recalled seeing at Shibuya Station yesterday. He was walking next to me at the same pace, with his hands placed in the pockets of his trousers and a friendly smile on his face. I must have been too wrapped up in my thoughts to notice he'd joined me.

"Oh-! It's you!" I frowned when I realised I didn't even know his name. "Um…"

"Ren Amamiya," he replied, his smile widening a little in amusement. "My bad. I didn't introduce myself last time."

A polite smile of my own made itself known as I slowed my walking down to a complete stop just in front of the gates, with Ren doing copying me and causing the students formerly behind us to change their path and go around us to head up the steps.

"It's nice to make your acquaintance, Ren."

Ren nodded in agreement, with his smile fading as he briefly glanced around at the area behind me.

"… On your own today, huh?"

" _Sadly_ ," I mumbled, prompting my own smile to fade as I reached a hand to rub at the back of my neck. "My friend had important things he needed to do."

"That's a shame." Ren paused to furrow his brow. "He was kinda scary, though. No offence intended."

I snorted in amusement and nodded in agreement.

"No, it's true. His temper has a way of making him come across as terrifying as Godzilla." I sighed. "Still, he chose a frustrating time to leave me alone."

"I can imagine…"

Ren briefly glanced towards a pair of male students passing us by who I recognised as first-years, watching as they fixed their eyes on me for a second before turning away and walking through the gates. My shoulders slumped when I heard their remarks anyway.

"Wasn't that the girl you told me about? The foreigner who hates the Phantom Thieves?"

"Yeah! She's in my homeroom!"

"Man, you weren't kidding when you said she stands out!"

' _Say it louder, guys. It's not like anyone_ _ **can hear you**_ _…'_

"I had a feeling those rumours I heard yesterday about 'The Phantom-Hater' were about you…" My gaze focused on Ren when he spoke up, with his own turning to me with a smile clearly intended out of pity. "I know _exactly_ how you feel. I've been there myself."

I found myself returning the smile and nodding.

"I've heard. Yuuma kindly caught me up on your rumours."

Ren shrugged his shoulders and slouched a bit.

"That explains a lot about his reaction towards me."

He paused to take his right hand from his pocket and glance at his phone, quickly putting it back once he was done.

"We still have some time to kill before school starts. Do you want to continue our conversation from where we left off yesterday? I'm still interested in knowing your views on the Phantom Thieves."

"…"

I hesitated for a moment with my response, briefly turning my gaze in the direction of the school gates as I recalled mine and Yuuma's text conversation from yesterday.

' _I promised Yuuma I'd be careful around him. And since he isn't with me today, it's probably not a good idea that I let myself be alone with Ren. And yet…'_

I focused back on Ren, who was patiently waiting for me to give an answer despite my delays.

'… _**he really**_ _doesn't seem like a bad guy. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to give him a chance and see what he's really like as a person. I can't judge him based on rumours, after all. I should be fine as long as we stay on school property.'_

"Yes," I eventually answered, glancing between my left and right sides out of wariness as a few more students passed us on either side. "… As long as we can go somewhere that's a little secluded."

Ren gave me a wide smile that clearly indicated he was pleased that I'd agreed to his proposal, his head tilting to the side slightly.

"You just read my mind."

* * *

It was decided between Ren and Verity that the courtyard of the school seemed like the least likely place for anyone to eavesdrop on them. Settling down on the blue wooden bench residing between some of the school's vending machines, Ren sat in silence on the left side of the bench with his hands resting against his thighs as he kept his gaze on Verity on his right.

'… _I saw the Nav on her phone. I knew my suspicions weren't just out of paranoia. She's just like us.'_

Out of the corner of his eyes Ren caught sight of Morgana moving his head close to the gap in the zip of his bag resting in between them, which he assumed was his way of trying to avoid moving the bag around whilst eavesdropping and avoiding attracting Verity's attention. Ren wasn't surprised by the fact Morgana was also intrigued by what Verity had to say, but he knew their reasons for doing so differed.

' _The others aren't like me, though. Because they don't remember what happened with the Holy Grail, they think we finally ended things with Shido and gained the public's respect. Like before they're letting the fame get to their head, but continue to believe they're helping people.'_

Sitting hunched over with her hands under her chin and her elbows resting on her lap, Ren gave Verity a quick look over again as he waited for her to bring herself to speak. She appeared to be trying to think through her words carefully before saying them, giving Ren the impression that she was a naturally cautious person around those she didn't know that well.

' _I can't be sure if everything she says to me is going to be true. It's difficult to judge if she knows about the app or awakened her abilities. Even so, I need to confirm my suspicions. Because if she has a will strong enough to fend off influence from the Holy Grail…'_

Verity kept her gaze locked onto her shoes, but soon straightened out her shoulders as she finally brought herself the courage to speak her mind. Her tone still came out quiet, though.

"… Just to clarify, I don't 'hate' the Phantom Thieves. I just don't agree with what they've been doing recently."

"I gathered that," Ren replied, shifting position slightly so his body faced more towards Verity. "I heard you express your annoyance towards their recent escapades and how often they're talked about." He paused to tilt his head to the side out of curiosity. "But _why_ does the attention annoy you so much? What did the Phantom Thieves do to cause you to think that?"

Verity leaned back to rest against the bench and moved her hands to her lap, wriggling her fingers around out of nerves and taking a deep breath to seemingly to compose herself. She appeared to be hesitating much to Ren's confusion, but was quick to realise that she might have been reluctant to express a reason many most likely wouldn't agree with.

"… Because they've made society lazy."

Ren blinked in surprise at this response, with him catching sight of Morgana's own eyes widening out of shock. Neither of them had been expecting that answer, but neither of them dared to interrupt her as Verity continued and explained herself.

"It sounds ridiculous, right? 'How do a group of vigilantes who are helping people make a society 'lazy'?' That's a question I've been asked multiple times, because no one else seems to see it except me."

Sighing, Ren watched as Verity's eyes drooped and focused on the skirt of her uniform.

"I mean… don't get me wrong! In the beginning, the Phantom Thieves did come across as if they were doing good. They convinced that gym teacher to own up for his crimes, they brought justice to the victims, and they even set up a public site to give people a voice."

Verity paused to frown, her hands balling into fists.

"But then as time went on, I noticed people's attitudes started to shift the more popular the Phantom Thieves became. Wherever I went, I kept hearing conversations about how terrible people thought the police were at their job, and how the Phantom Thieves were better because they actually _did something_. Whenever bad things were brought up or happened in front of their faces, they always brushed off others' concerns and said, 'It's not our problem to deal with! Leave it to the Phantom Thieves!'. They started to believe that they didn't need to do anything and that they could leave it all for others to solve for them."

Ren raised a brow as he heard the anger slowly seeping into Verity's voice despite her trying to keep at a low volume. He could tell just how much this truly was affecting her, especially at the sight of her fists beginning to shake with rage.

"But it wasn't until everyone started to feed off the hype that this tipped me over the edge. TV stations mention stories and stuff on the Phantom Thieves for more ratings. Shops have made fake merchandise based on their escapades for more profit. People have even made up silly lies about them being members of the group just for attention!" Verity gritted her teeth. "And what have the Phantom Thieves actually done about this…? _Nothing_. They've _encouraged_ this way of thinking!"

Ren briefly glanced away from Verity to stare at Morgana still inside his bag as the former went on with her explanation turned rant, who was staring Verity's way with drooped ears and a frown. It was clear to Ren that Verity's words were beginning to affect Morgana in a 'contemplative' kind of way, which caused him to frown for a few seconds.

' _Her opinion sounds too logical. And it's strong enough to get people questioning their way of thinking. Looks like I was right. She_ _ **is**_ _immune to the influence of the Holy Grail…'_

"The people whose hearts they change are no longer random. They're either people who the public vote for in that silly website poll or who are connected to the Phantom Thieves' arrest warrant." Verity finally turned to look at Ren with a deepened scowl on her face by the time he'd glanced back at her. "Like… doesn't it seem strange to you? If the Phantom Thieves' goal was to help people, then why are they just following public opinion rather than their own as well? Why not also focus on the people who nobody takes notice of?"

Ren said nothing and continued to stare at her with a surprised look, causing Verity's eyes to widen and her cheeks to turn a bright shade of pink. Clearing her throat out of awkwardness, the blonde braided girl was quick to turn her head away and lower her gaze to her lap again.

"S-Sorry. I got a little carried away…"

"It's okay. Your anger is understandable," Ren said with the shake of his head, prompting Verity to turn to him with a shocked blink. "I've never really thought about it that way. And hearing you say it now… you make a good point."

"… I do?" Verity allowed her shoulders and hands to relax as she raised a finger to scratch at her still pink cheek. "Huh. Your reaction is a lot calmer than what I was expecting, to be honest. Usually people just yell at me to shut up because they think I don't know what I'm talking about."

"But don't you think the Phantom Thieves are still doing good, even if it seems to be through their own personal gain, too?"

Verity's brow furrowed at Ren's question, giving herself a moment to consider her answer carefully before she dared to give it.

"… I suppose so. _In a way_." Verity's frown deepened. "But I just can't bring myself to support it either way. It just… _doesn't feel right_ , you know? For me, it sends the wrong message."

Ren raised a brow out of curiosity.

"What do you mean?"

Crossing one leg over the other, Verity sat up straight and turned her body a little so she was facing Ren. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ren could see Morgana's ears had since raised, his gaze fixed intently on Verity from where he could see her inside of the bag.

"The public often forget that behind the anonymity and heroic deeds, the police and other emergency services in this city are made up of ordinary, everyday people like them. They're not 'super-humans' who can magically solve problems. They need at least a little bit of help from those who have the courage to call out immorality when they see it."

Verity paused to pull her left sleeve back up her arm, something Ren noticed but didn't comment on.

"The same can be said about the Phantom Thieves. I think the only way they've managed to get this far is because they've found people who were willing to help get rid of the injustice being spread by their targets. They act as the voice of the weak and give them the strength to stand up for themselves." She sighed and shook her head in dismay. "But now the opposite is being conveyed. And I don't think that's a good thing in the long run…"

Ren stared at Verity in silence for the longest time, reaching out a hand to place under his chin as he studied her current stance closely.

' _I wonder…'_

"… Can I ask you something?" Ren started after a while of silence, prompting Verity to blink in confusion but nod to show it was fine. "You speak of ignorant people who stand by and allow others to fight their battles for them, but if you ever found yourself in a situation where someone needed help, would you step up and help them?"

Verity raised her brows in surprise at the bold question, leaving Ren to smile out of reassurance and raise his hands up in surrender.

"I don't mean to call you out on your opinion. I just find it hypocritical when people complain about something but aren't prepared to follow their own beliefs. I'd like to know if you're one of those people…"

But Ren was soon widening his eyes in surprise when Verity responded with a bright smile on her face.

" _I'm not_. Whilst I don't consider myself to be as heroic as the Phantom Thieves were in the beginning, I would help someone if I knew for definite that I could do something." Verity paused to chuckle a little in amusement. "Because let's be honest; I'm not noble enough to be considered on their level. But that doesn't mean I would turn a blind eye if there was no one else to help them."

Ren gave a chuckle of his own in response, but on the inside the cogs in his mind were slowly turning as he gave himself the necessary time to process Verity's words. Out of the corner of his vision, he thought he saw Morgana smiling in reminiscence at Verity's words, clearly proving that they had somehow struck a cord with him. But he decided that wasn't going to be his focus right now.

' _Spoken like someone who my teammates would have considered a potential Phantom Thief…'_

Whilst Ren mused away in his thoughts for the time, Verity turned her focus to her bag so she could pull out her phone and check the lock screen. Her eyes widened when she saw the time displayed on the screen, prompting her to shove her phone back into her bag and stand up, wiping her former smile clean off her face.

"Oh- Look at the time-! I never realised we'd been talking for so long! We should get going!"

Ren nodded in agreement and reached out for his bag as Verity started to jog away, only to quickly come to a stop and glance back with a friendly smile to boot.

"It was nice talking with you, Ren. Thank you for hearing me out and not judging me like everyone else."

Putting his bag over his shoulder, Ren stood and returned his hands to his pockets, nodding in agreement.

"Same to you, Verity. It's refreshing to hear a different take on things for once. I hope we can talk more in the future."

Verity's smile widened a bit.

"… I'd like that."

Ren returned the smile as he watched Verity briefly wave before she turned around and started her run away from the area. It wasn't until she had disappeared around the corner that Ren finally let his smile drop, his brow furrowing out of suspicion.

' _She's definitely one I need to watch out for. But she's just as easily manipulatable as everyone else. If she has already awoken to that power…'_

Ren's thoughts trailed off when he heard Morgana chuckling from inside his bag, prompting him to turn his head towards it with a confused blink.

"Hm? What's so funny, Morgana?"

Ren saw Morgana smiling up at him through the gap in the zip, his blue eyes sparkling a little from the glint of sunlight streaming in.

"Oh, it's nothing! She just sounded a lot like someone we know. Don't you agree, _leader_ ~?"

Ren's eyes drooped in dismay at Morgana's teasing outwardly, but inwardly the teenager's reaction was way different than what his feline companion would have probably expected.

' _In the past? Probably. But not anymore.'_

Beginning his walk away from the courtyard, Ren narrowed his eyes when he was sure Morgana was no longer paying any attention towards him.

' _Still, Morgana makes a valid point. After watching the others awaken to their Personas, there's a possibility that Verity can or may have already awoken her own. It might be worth testing this theory out at some point. Maybe once I've found a way to grasp what her daily routine during the week is like.'_

Just as Ren turned the corner to walk back towards the school's building, however, he came to a stop and raised a brow at seeing a familiar face walking across the grass towards the school's building whilst staring down at the phone in his hands.

' _Isn't that Verity's friend? Didn't she say his name was 'Yuuma'?'_

Despite the distance between them, Ren was still able to make out the annoyed mutters that managed to escape his mouth, prompting him to remain where he was stood and listen in for the time being.

"Dammit! I can't believe they've demanded that much yen from me! If I'm going to pay 'em back, I'll have to ask my boss if I can work more hours during the week…"

Ren tilted his head a little when he heard Yuuma huff in annoyance as he got a little further away from him.

"Guess I'll also have to ask Verity to go to Shibuya for Auntie, depending on what he says. God, she's gonna be so mad at me!"

' _Shibuya, huh?'_

Ren smiled faintly in triumph as he turned his gaze away at seeing his bag shake around, knowing that Morgana must have shifted position upon hearing Yuuma mumbling away to himself.

"Wonder what his problem is," he heard Morgana say aloud. "It sounded like he was in some kind of trouble."

Ren shrugged his shoulders as a response to feign interest when his smile vanished, but in truth he wasn't concerned with Yuuma's problems like his former self would have been. Instead his mind was concocting an idea that he could act on as soon as possible, much to his glee.

' _That's perfect. Looks like I can test my theory out after all…'_

"Morgana?"

Ren paused to wait for Morgana to turn his head his way before continuing.

"Will you be alright to head back to Café Leblanc with Futaba after school? There's something I need to look into."

Morgana frowned in confusion at his leader as he took a moment to process the question. But he was soon relaxing his expression and giving a cheeky grin.

"You're the boss! Just be careful, okay?"

Ren returned the grin.

"I always am."

* * *

 _ **11**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [After School]**_

' **Can't walk home with ya today. Something came up. Go on without me. Also, could you stop by the convenience store in Shibuya for me? Auntie asked me to pick a few things up on the way home. I'll send ya the list in a separate message. See ya soon.'**

" _Goddammit_ , Yuuma," I muttered under my breath as I re-read the text message he'd sent to me earlier, eventually shaking my head and returning my phone to my bag as I walked away from Shibuya Station and towards the busier areas of the district.

' _I can't believe he decided to send that text to me right before school ended for the day. I was hoping I could squeeze in some time to get my homework done, but now I'm being made to run errands.'_

Huffing in annoyance, I pulled my bag strap further across my shoulder as I found myself entering the bustling crowds that made up Central Street, beginning to pass by various places that were known very well around the area. Had I been with someone else (or at least Yuuma), I wouldn't have been as cautious. But I was a young high school student on her own amongst a bunch of strangers, so I felt I had to remain wary. Luckily, Mom happened to work in the bookstore that was located at the bottom of Central Street. Should I have found myself in a dangerous situation, at least I knew I could flee there. Even so, I still needed to keep my guard up.

' _Still, I suppose_ _ **someone**_ _had to do it to keep the load off Mom's shoulders. She spends most of the morning preparing to go to work, works through until evening, and then by the time she gets home she's shattered. It's not easy for her to find the time to do simple things when she's on her own…'_

My grip tightened on my bag strap as I started to pass 'Million Sweets' on my left, being aware I was closing in on the alleyways now.

' _I just wish Yuuma wasn't so spontaneous with his plans. It's like he doesn't think of anyone else when he goes out of his way to-'_

I came to a sudden stop in the middle of the pavement as I'd begun to pass the first alleyway to my left when a bright blue glow caught the corner of my vision, prompting me to glance in that direction whilst the people around me continued to pass by without a care in the world. I squinted when I noticed what appeared to be a transparent blue barred door with a strange bright blue glow around it. It had something else stuck in the middle of it in a circle, but I was too far away to see what it was.

'… _The hell?'_

I'd been in Shibuya's Central Street plenty of times with Yuuma or Mom, and although I'd never actually gone down that alleyway I'd felt that I'd glanced at the area in passing enough times to know that strange-looking door wasn't there before… Not to mention it was positioned in a rather awkward place in between the left corner where the walls connected, and it didn't look like it had anything on the other side. It was just lingering there on its own with no support.

' _No way. I don't ever remember that thing being there before. This is…'_

I dared to glance left and right at the crowds of people swarming around me with a confused blink, with none of them appearing to take any notice of this weird phenomenon. Even the people who were loitering by the entrance to the alleyway didn't even seem to notice this weird-looking door.

' _I can't be the only one seeing this, right? Or has it been here a while and I'm the one left in the dark?'_

After a moment of staring around at the seemingly oblivious people continuing to walk past, my wandering eyes finally locked with the strange-looking door for the second time. That was more than enough proof I wasn't seeing things. That door _was definitely_ there.

' _As if the whole mess with that app wasn't already making things weird for me… Now there's this- this_ _ **door**_ _?! I mean… Can I even be sure that it's real?'_

I furrowed my brow for a moment in thought and allowed my gaze to briefly wander again, just as a way to make sure that everyone around me didn't have their attention on the alleyway. And that there weren't any people who looked like 'threats'. My gut was telling me to leave it and just return to the errand I was supposed to be occupying my time with. But my curiosity and need to confirm the door's existence was niggling at the back of my mind.

' _I know I shouldn't go wandering into random alleyways on my own. But something about that door just doesn't feel right. Maybe I should get a closer look.'_

However, I'd barely taken my first step towards it before I felt familiar aching pains spring to life in my chest, causing me to come to a halt and place a hand over the affected area.

' _Dammit. Why now?!'_

But I knew exactly why I was beginning to feel this way, prompting me to tighten my grip on my school shirt.

' _What am I saying? Of course I know why. It isn't the same situation as_ _ **that**_ _was, but the feelings are the same. My curiosity was the only reason I got myself into that mess to begin with…'_

My breathing grew heavy as I kept my eyes locked on the barred door, eventually prompting me to scowl in annoyance. Had this been any other situation, I would have chosen the cowardly route and left things as they were, just like I always did. But for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to do that now. It was almost like the door was beckoning me to come to it.

"…"

Eventually shaking my head to get my focus back on track, I was quick to turn away and force myself to continue walking in the direction I'd originally been going.

' _Nope. Nope. I can't go through this again. It didn't end good back then. What's to say following my curiosity this time won't be any different?'_

* * *

Standing amongst the crowd that walked back and forth in front of the diner, Ren watched Verity's retreating back as she walked away from the alleyway and continued through Central Street towards her initial destination. He didn't need to be close enough to where she'd stood to guess why Verity had been reacting the way she had been. It was obvious to him that she had most likely seen the door to the Velvet Room in the alleyway… which he hadn't expected at all.

' _This goes beyond what I could have imagined. I only followed her to make sure she went into Shibuya's Central Street. Did she_ _ **actually**_ _see the door to the Velvet Room?'_ Ren briefly paused when a sudden thought struck him. _'Don't tell me… Has a new wild card been chosen?'_

He didn't think it was possible. Yaldabaoth had expressed no interest in finding another human to grant powers to after him and Goro Akechi. It made Ren wonder if the real proprietor of the Velvet Room – the one Lavenza had claimed Yaldabaoth had imprisoned – was responsible for this. If so, this spelt trouble for both him and his master.

' _I was originally going to activate the Nav and travel to Mementos when she returned to the station. But if she can see the Velvet Room, then she can't be any ordinary Persona user.'_

Scowling and turning his gaze to the entrance of the alleyway, Ren began his walk in that general direction as he continued dwelling in his thoughts.

' _I think I should consult with my master about this issue-'_

His phone ringing in his pocket brought Ren to a halt, prompting him to reach for it with a hand and unlock it. It was an IM message from Ryuji.

' **Yo! Where are ya, Ren-Ren? Mona said you'd gone off somewhere. I'm at Leblanc with Ann, Futaba and Yusuke. We need to talk about your 'welcome back' party and the Phantom Thieves' one-year anniversary.** **Get your ass over here asap!'**

"…"

Letting out a loud sigh of annoyance, Ren locked his phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

' _I probably shouldn't ignore him.'_

Turning around and returning his hands to his pockets, Ren started his walk in the direction of Shibuya Station.

' _I can always speak with the master another time. It's not like Verity can get past the lock on the door should she choose to try to open it…'_

* * *

 _ **11**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [Evening]**_

Having changed into a pair of black pyjama bottoms with a white star pattern and a sleeveless white pyjama top, I sat alone on my bed with my legs crossed and my hands in my lap. With only the light from my desk lamp filling the room, I glanced around at the ten different photographs I'd spread out in a semi-circle across the quilt. These were pictures that I rarely bothered with since the last of the collection had been taken six years ago. They were given to me in a brown envelope when I was first put into care, and up until now I hadn't bothered to open it. But for some reason my encounter with that strange door in Shibuya that afternoon had compelled me to do so when I'd returned home, and it's where I'd been ever since. Aside from when Yuuma had come home twenty minutes ago and briefly poked his head in to say 'hi' before going straight to bed, I'd been sat here in silence staring at the photographs the whole time.

That didn't change even when I heard the front door open and close downstairs, instantly guessing who it was based on the rattling of keys that quickly followed.

' _Mom's home.'_

I didn't look up to my open bedroom doorway when I heard her making her way up the stairs, instead choosing to wait until I heard her footsteps stop before meeting her gaze.

"Hey. How was it today?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"It was okay. … At least, as okay as it could be."

I noticed a faint smile of sympathy appear on Mom's face at this, but I pretended not to notice by focusing my gaze on the photograph that was closest to me, which depicted seven-year-old me sat in a bright red armchair of my former British home on the lap of my Dad; a tall, compassionate man with dark brown hair tied into a small ponytail, bright green eyes glistening behind oval-shaped glasses, and a smile that had once masked his demons so well from the naked eye.

"And Yuuma?"

"He's fast asleep in his room," I said in reply, not once glancing in Mom's direction when she spoke.

There was a long silence before I heard Mom step into the room and make her way over to my bed, feeling the weight shift slightly as she seated herself on the edge whilst avoiding the spread of photographs as best as she could. At first she said nothing, allowing the silence to linger for a moment longer. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her glancing in between me and the photographs, as if she was taking time to study my current reaction. But eventually she was the first one to break it.

"Looking at some old photographs, huh?"

I nodded.

"Uh-huh."

I saw Mom lean in a little closer to me so she could get a better look at them. She was probably surprised I was even looking at them to begin with, considering I rarely spoke about my real family to anyone. To be honest, even I was surprised.

"I don't think I've seen these before."

"You most likely haven't," I replied, reaching out a hand to pull another photograph closer to me, showing five-year-old me throwing bread crumbs at a duck pond from a bench I was sat on beside my Dad. "These are from back when I was known as 'Verity Cecil'. I haven't looked at any of them in six years."

I briefly glanced Mom's way when she focused her gaze on the photograph I'd pulled towards me, wondering why she was being so curious. I had a hunch, though, that she was probably trying to distract me from the bad things that had happened recently. It was something I noticed she often tried to do. And although the questions were related to things she knew I wasn't quite comfortable talking about often, she was aware of which things to specifically avoid.

"Is that your Dad?"

"… Yeah."

"He looked quite handsome for a British gentleman."

I turned to face her just as my mouth dropped open in surprise, only to see her smiling at me in amusement.

"… I was joking, sweetheart."

" _I know_! But I still can't believe you said it!"

I looked away when Mom started to laugh and placed a hand to my closest shoulder, my eyes drooping in dismay as she did so. But it wasn't long before she was quick to draw my attention back on topic.

"Did your Mom take the photos? I can't see her in any of them."

I was quick to shake my head.

"No. It was by a family friend. But she wouldn't have been in any of them anyway. My parents were divorced by the time these were taken."

I side-glanced Mom to see her staring at me with a frown of pity, feeling her grip tighten on my shoulder.

"Did you ever get to see her before…" She paused to think of a way to phrase it without accidentally causing me to get worked up. "… _that_ happened?"

I scowled down at the two photographs in front of me.

"I didn't. And I'm glad I didn't. She was a vile woman. She treated Dad like a doormat and continued to break his heart even after he willingly divorced her." My scowl deepened. "Despite the way she treated the both of us, he just couldn't get over her…"

I fell quiet when I felt Mom's hand rub against the back of my shoulder, neither of us choosing to say a word for some time. But during this time I found my thoughts once again wandering towards the door I'd seen in the alleyway in Shibuya today, and before I knew it I was relaxing my brow and glancing Mom's way to speak again.

"… Can I ask you something?"

Mom raised her brows at me out of surprise, but was quick to nod without a moment's hesitation.

"Of course you can. You know you can ask me anything."

Taking that as confirmation, I straightened out my back and took a few seconds to collect myself. I obviously knew I couldn't be blunt with what I was referring to, so I had to try to be as vague as possible without her getting suspicious.

"If you had the chance to learn the truth about something, but you were too scared to look into it yourself… what would you do?"

Mom blinked at me and stayed silent as she took a moment to process my question, leaving me to stare back as I waited for her to give me an answer. The question was quite out of the blue, so I'd expected her to be shocked by it in some way. But she was soon relaxing her expression and tilting her head to the side with a confused blink this time.

"What's brought this on all of a sudden?"

I raised a hand to the back of my neck and gave it a rub as I turned my gaze towards my lap and tried to think of a way I could make an excuse that didn't sound farfetched. It seemed like I was going to have to exaggerate the truth… At least, _a little bit_.

"Honestly… I don't know for sure. But I suspect it's because of something that's been playing on my mind a lot recently." I paused to close my eyes, using the silence between us as my cue to go on. "Most people are vaguely aware of my past because of the police report and my social care files. But what they don't know is _my_ side of the story; what I saw that night. Not even I know. I only know it must have been bad because my memories of the event are all jumbled up."

Letting out a quiet sigh, I opened my eyes and lifted my arms to wrap around my middle.

"I want to remember what I saw. But at the same time, I'm scared letting my curiosity run wild will result in something horrible coming to light."

I furrowed my brow and finally brought myself to face Mom, unable to read her current expression as she listened to what I had to say.

"… Am I wrong for trying to run away from the truth?"

Having taken that question as my cue that I'd finished and her cue to answer me, Mom frowned out of concern and moved the hand still on my shoulder so she could wrap her arm around me.

"Verity…"

When I felt her pull me close to her side I made no move to pull myself away, even at the cost of watching the photograph semi-circle I'd created get destroyed and pushed in different directions on top of the quilt. With Mom repeatedly rubbing her hand against my upper-arm to offer me comfort, I chose to rest the side of my head against her closest shoulder and listen to what she had to say. I rarely asked her for advice, but whenever I did it was more than helpful.

"It's a natural defence mechanism for our minds to suppress horrible memories when the body falls into shock. It's how we protect ourselves and keep going for survival. This isn't the case for everyone, of course, but there are some people out there who can't handle certain situations as well as others. You shouldn't be ashamed of not wanting to know the truth. It just means that at this moment in time, you don't feel you're ready to handle it in the appropriate way." Mom paused to glance down at me as I glanced up at her. "Does that make sense?"

When I responded with a confused frown and a few seconds of silence, she tilted her head so that her cheek was resting against the top of my hair.

"It's a little like when I moved to England eight years ago and spent three of them on my own. My situation isn't on the same level as yours, but the feelings were the same when I decided I wanted to adopt a child. I was scared to find out the backgrounds of the children in care, because I knew they were going to be terrible and I was worried I wouldn't be able to deal with the necessary situations properly. I was essentially scared of uncovering what I would be like as a parent."

I kept my eyes on Mom from my awkward angle as I watched a reminiscent smile appear on her face.

"But there eventually came a point where I knew I had to take the plunge and see the truth for myself, because I couldn't live in fear forever. And when I did and finally had you, I realised my worries were for nothing."

Feeling her wrap her other arm around me, I watched as she tilted her head slightly so she was looking at me directly.

"My point is, it might not feel like it now, but you'll know when you're ready to face what you saw that night. So you don't need to rush into things or feel ashamed for the way you feel. Just take your time and it'll come to you naturally. I can guarantee it."

I furrowed my brow in thought, taking a moment of reflection.

' _She's right. I've spent the last six years feeling ashamed of myself for wanting to hide from memories that have yet to resurface. And yet the only reason they're suppressed in the first place is because my mind obviously doesn't feel I'm ready to handle it. The same goes for that app and that door. Since seeing them I've noticed I've become a little bolder regarding myself and my opinions.'_

My gaze remained focused on Mom, who was watching me in silence and waiting for my answer.

' _I mean… it sounds crazy, but… maybe they're signs that I shouldn't be scared of wanting to know the truth. I don't think they're connected to my past memories in any way. In fact, I know they aren't. They're just weird coincidences. But perhaps if I use them as a stepping stone to overcome my fears… I'll eventually find a way to trigger my missing memories and uncover what I saw.'_

Even saying it all in my head made me think I'd gone nuts. But it all seemed to fit together in a strange little way…

Eventually bringing myself to smile, I turned my body further towards Mom's and raised an arm to wrap around her back, trying to give her a hug despite our current positions.

"I believe you. Thanks. That was honestly a big help."

I didn't see Mom's reaction to my words, but I soon felt it when her grip around me tightened a little.

"You're welcome. You know I'm here for you anytime."

My smile widened at that, prompting my grip in the awkward hug to tighten, too, when my gaze locked with one of the photographs close to me turned on its back.

' _It's settled, then. When the time is right, I'll take it slow and return to that door in Shibuya to confirm its existence for myself. No more running away.'_


	5. Chapter 5: Down the Rabbit Hole

**A/N: This chapter took a little longer to write than I'd hoped, due to a combination of length, time and health problems. But thank you to those who have been favouriting, following, reviewing, and reading this fanfic. Your support is greatly appreciated. We're finally starting to get into the nitty-gritty of things, but the real action won't occur until the next chapter. Probably. I don't know. XD In the meantime, I hope this sates your hunger.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Down the Rabbit Hole

 _ **16**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [Morning]**_

It had taken me until the end of the week to muster up the courage to return to Shibuya's Central Street and stand in the entrance to the alleyway face to face with that blue, glowing, barred door. Aside from school and errands taking up a lot of my time, I still found myself hesitant in confronting this anomaly for a second time. I'd continued to walk by the alleyway on the way home from school whenever I was alone (or made-up an excuse to stop by the convenience and drug stores for Yuuma's sake) just to get a quick glance and make sure the door was still there, and each time had never failed me; it was there in the same spot with no difference.

When Sunday had finally rolled around, I saw it as my opportunity to put this restless paranoia of mine out of commission. After changing into something causal and much more comfortable than my school uniform (consisting of a dark green jacket on top of a white polo shirt, white leggings, and green boots), I left my home for Shibuya without alerting either Mom or Yuuma where I was going. The last thing I needed was the two of them getting nosy regarding my business, especially since it was uncommon for me to wander out of the house on my own. Not to mention they probably wouldn't have believed me even if I did tell them the truth…

So one stealth mission and one train ride later, I found myself back where I was just under a week ago; standing at the entrance to the alleyway with the weird-looking door staring right back at me, and the large crowds of people passing behind me without a single glance in my direction.

' _I should be surprised by this point that it's still there. But considering the app has yet to disappear from my phone, I didn't expect the door to, either…'_

I'd barely been standing there for more than a minute and already I was beginning to feel the chest pains from before returning, prompting me to cover a hand over the area and sigh in dismay.

' _Here comes the anxiety. But this isn't going to turn out like last time. I'm going to make sure of that.'_

Curling my fingers into the front of my jacket, I closed my eyes and took a quick deep breath in before exhaling and opening my eyes seconds after, giving myself a moment to mentally prepare myself for what I was about to do through the only way I knew would keep me calm; singing in my head.

'… _Round like a circle in a spiral~, like a wheel within a wheel~. Never ending or beginning, on an ever-spinning reel~.'_

As I started to sing the lyrics to 'Windmills of Your Mind' in my head, I forced myself forward one heavy step at a time. I didn't shuffle or take large strides to either speed-up or slow down my approach. I just took ordinary steps. With the amount of times I'd listened to the song in the past, I knew the tune and lyrics like the back of my hand. I didn't need my earphones or phone this time.

' _Like a snowball down a mountain~, or a carnival balloon~. Like a carousel that's turning~, running rings around the moon~. Like a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face~. And the world is like an apple~… whirling silently in space~. Like the circles that you find~… in the windmills of your mind~.'_

I'd managed to get halfway through the alleyway by the time I'd gotten through the first part of the song, with my chest pain slowly dying away and my anxiety somehow remaining at bay. But from my current vantage point I now had a clearer view of the glowing door and the black circle that was stuck in the middle of it, even as I continued to get closer. The sight was more than enough to make me forget about my current anxiety and allowed my curiosity to take over, causing me to pick up the pace in my walk until I came to a stop with only a small gap between me and the door.

There appeared to be six, small, white glowing indents of varying shapes around the outer corners of the circle, but each of them was blocked by thin green lines that made the shape of an 'X'. The only one I could make out clearly enough was the lone white indent in the middle shaped like a leaf, which seemed oddly familiar…

' _What is this? Some kind of fancy-looking lock mechanism? I mean… I'm not actually sure if that's what it is. But considering the shaped indent…'_

Placing a hand to the back of my head to give it a scratch, I quickly glanced behind me to make sure no one was looking or coming down the alleyway. After staring for a few seconds and seeing nobody paying attention to me, I focused back on the door and took a step forward, slowly raising my left hand towards the door's bars to touch them.

' _Alright. Before I go any further with this, I need to be sure this door is real. That way I know I'm not going crazy.'_

However, when my fingers were only inches away from touching the bars, I turned my eyes to my left wrist when I felt my bracelet slide down towards my hand. The next thing I knew, the green leaf shaped charm attached to it began to glow a bright green, which in turn caused the matching indent in the middle of the circle to do the same.

'… _! What the heck-?!'_

I gasped loudly and stumbled backwards away from the door at the sight and sound of the 'X' shapes covering the other indents breaking and vanishing into thin air, with my hands flying to my mouth as the barred door swung forward and opened towards the left. I had naturally not been expecting any of this to happen.

' _Oh my god-!'_

Lowering my hands away from my mouth still gaped open, I held out my left arm in front of me to stare between the charm on my bracelet and the matching indent on the door multiple times as the green glows surrounding both quickly died down, trying to process what the heck was going on.

' _They're exactly the same! The size, the shape…'_

I shook my head in disbelief and closed my mouth as I looked behind me towards the entrance of the alleyway for a second time, only focusing back on my charm again when I saw that everybody was still minding their own business. At least I hadn't drawn any attention to myself with my horrified reaction.

' _What the hell…?! This can't be right! My Dad found this thing in a jewellery store! It's never had freaky supernatural powers! So why…?'_

My gaze focused on the now opened door as I let out a groan of frustration, closing my eyes and reaching my other hand to my forehead to give it a rub.

' _I knew this was a bad idea. I only wanted to see if the door was real and I've wound up opening it by accident. I suspected this would happen. I should have just stayed away. Why did I listen to Mom?!'_

I could already feel my anxiety beginning to creep back up on me when my body trembled, prompting me to open my eyes again and stare ahead at the eerie blue light surrounding the inside of the doorway. A feeling of déjà vu was soon washing over me, making me feel as if I'd been in a similar position before at a different time; not in front of this exact door, of course. But another doorway concealed in darkness in my former home, of which I'd already vaguely remembered…

It was this prompt of memory, though, that reminded me of Mom's advice from a few days ago, causing me to look behind me briefly before focusing on the door again with a frown despite my trembling body.

'… _No. This isn't the time for regrets. Both that app and this door have been lingering around and won't go away no matter what I do. They both seem to be connected, and they both keep getting in my face. If I continue to run away, it's possible a third thing might pop up.'_

Lowering my hands to my sides and balling them into fists, my frown deepened as I forced myself to walk forward, closing my eyes tight as I did so.

' _No more running away! I'm going through this door and getting my answers!'_

* * *

When Joker and his teammates had first entered the Depths of Mementos and walked down the blackened, spine-built path to the mysterious shrine hidden below on that fateful day, they were all naturally horrified at its surroundings and questioning just how twisted society must have become to create such an awful place as this. But as he traversed down this path alone in the present with his hands in the pockets of his trousers and stared ahead with no regard to the horrors that lurked around him, Joker realised just how much he'd changed over the last few months.

It had taken him almost the rest of the week to finally find the time to journey to see Yaldabaoth, as Ryuji had done well in using his whole 'party-planning' scheme to keep him and the others occupied, on top of school and Sojiro needing his help around the café. Realistically, he could have come here any time he'd wanted, but he knew he would have drawn suspicion from his friends if he'd tried to use a fake excuse. They weren't stupid, after all, and their continued activities as the Phantom Thieves had made them stronger and sharper in ways none of them would have expected. Joker had been anxious of leaving this unaddressed for so long in the likely case Verity turned out to be a threat to him and Yaldabaoth. But he'd reminded himself of the lock Yaldabaoth had provided for the door of the Velvet Room, and that regardless of her being able to access the Metaverse she couldn't get past it without the necessary key; something which he had.

As Joker started to enter the mysterious shrine and locked eyes with the glowing red lights lingering behind the many bars to the cells of the public's shadows, his gloved hands tightened into fists at the brief recollection of the Phantom Thieves' first encounter with the Holy Grail; the cries of the slothful who hid behind the bars and had begged them to spare their 'saviour', the giant black cup that had continually thwarted their efforts upon using the public's wishes to recover… Despite having walked this way many times since then, Joker still retained the same feeling of dread at the deathly silence that lingered around the shrine.

' _The public's palace never fails not to be eerie…'_

Of course, that recollection was brief the moment his gaze focused on the centre of the room; his initial destination. Where the giant golden cup once stood hovered 'Igor' with glowing yellow eyes and his arms stretched out to the sides palms up, surrounded by thin swirls of black and red that coincided with the colours that made up Mementos and its depths. Joker straightened out his posture as he gained closer, his poker face remaining behind his mask. His current form clearly suggested one thing for Joker based on the few trips he had made since agreeing to the deal with the demiurge…

' _He's been expecting me.'_

His suspicions were quickly confirmed when Yaldabaoth spoke in his deep, distorted voice just before he'd reached him.

"Welcome, Trickster."

Joker said nothing in response as he came to a stop a small distance away and watched the being occupying the form of the original Velvet Room proprietor continue to hover before him, remaining rather casual with his stance despite being in the presence of a technical god (even if he was false). Upon being met with silence, Yaldabaoth let out a small but deep chuckle of amusement.

"You say nothing, and yet your silence still speaks volumes in my presence. You are truly an intriguing human." Yaldabaoth allowed a malevolent grin to appear on his face before he continued. "You seek my knowledge on the girl you suspect is rivalling you as a Wild Card, I believe?"

Joker nodded, prompting Yaldabaoth to close his eyes and lower his head a little in contemplation, his smile fading.

"You were right to suspect that I had not bestowed her the Metaverse Navigator. Since the contract between us was formed, I have relinquished myself from interfering in the lives of humanity any further. How this girl came into possession of the Metaverse Navigator is beyond my knowledge…"

Joker huffed quietly and glanced down towards the floor.

' _That isn't very reassuring. If not even Yaldabaoth knows how Verity managed to obtain the Nav-'_

" _However_ ," Joker returned his gaze to Yaldabaoth just as he opened his eyes and interrupted his mental rant. "… she has yet to awaken to the power of Persona and enter the Metaverse. She is still oblivious to the world you and your allies have been exposed to."

Yaldabaoth smirked as Joker relaxed his shoulders and loosened his fingers' grip within the pockets of his clothes.

' _At least something positive has come from this.'_

" _Still_ … being able to perceive the entrance to the Velvet Room does suggest she could possess abilities that rival yours. It is possible that the original proprietor of the Velvet Room is responsible for this, but that has yet to be proven."

"Then what do you propose should be done to tackle this problem?"

Joker blinked in surprise when he heard Yaldabaoth chuckle darkly, watching in silence as he raised his head back to stare above him.

"Of course a child of man would become inflicted by his own fears… You need not worry, Trickster. Whether she awakens the power of a regular Persona user or a Wild Card, it will not be enough to harm the contract we have made. The humans have chosen their fate, and you have sealed it. She has little power to influence the masses now."

Yaldabaoth lowered his head to face Joker when he failed to respond, prompting his smirk to widen.

"But should you feel so strongly about her becoming a possible obstacle in the future, I will leave the decision of what should be done with you. I _did_ allow you such freedom when it came to the Velvet Room's former attendants, after all. It would certainly be interesting to see just how well the Trickster fares against an unexpected opponent…"

Joker said nothing aloud in front of the false demiurge hovering before him, choosing to instead nod and bow his head a little to display his acknowledgement and gratitude for the decision. But his thoughts contradicted his outward appearance.

'… _He's arrogant. Undermining any foe is something not even a god should do. Shido never undermined the Phantom Thieves. Even after we'd defeated his shadow, he still found a way to destroy his palace in a last-ditch attempt to finish us off and prevent his change of heart.'_

"I look forward to seeing how well you will handle this new adversary, Trickster."

With those final words from Yaldabaoth, Joker turned around and started to walk away from the shrine without another word, giving the god no further acknowledgement as he frowned behind his eye mask.

' _I will deal with her before she becomes a problem. But only should she enter the Metaverse.'_

* * *

Within the confines of the Velvet Room that morning, silence persisted amongst the empty cells and desk that stood still. But this was occasionally disrupted by the sounds of moving chains that came from the only occupied cell: Cell No.0. Under the dim lighting offered by the lit lamp hanging from the ceiling were the twin wardens, lying on the floor back to back with their eyes closed. Justine was on the left whilst Caroline was on the right, coincidentally lying on the same sides where they'd once stood whenever guarding the cell during the Trickster's visits. But both had removed their hats and placed them under their heads to act as a pillow, giving them some comfort against the stone and their shackles as they tried to get whatever rest they could.

This is all the two spent their time doing these days when the Trickster wasn't present to torment them, or – as they had done at the beginning of their imprisonment – when they weren't trying to find a way to escape from their confinement. But with their wills to escape slowly fading over the last few months, sleeping and napping became much more frequent. The two weren't granted breaks whenever the Trickster gave them their useless jobs to do, so the pair often found themselves greatly exhausted by the time they were done and locked up again. They may have lived as 'Lavenza' for many years, but even beings like them had their limits.

However, compared to Justine, Caroline was finding it difficult to settle down and sleep for a long enough time. She was constantly moving in and out of consciousness, her mind refusing to let her body have the proper rest she needed and craved. The thoughts currently swirling around in her head wouldn't leave her alone, replaying Joker's taunting remarks as he'd rubbed the news of his betrayal in their faces.

' _ **You should have seen the hurtful look on your face. Lavenza must have felt so betrayed and useless… that she just gave up.'**_

' _ **You should be thankful.**_ **I** _ **was going to let my master erase you. But why should I pass up an opportunity to get my revenge?'**_

' _ **Don't look so mad. You should be grateful I know mercy.'**_

Closing her left eye a little tighter, Caroline let out a quiet whimper and rattled the chain holding her shackles when she raised her hands to cover her ears, trying to block out Joker's voice as best as she could even if her actions were pointless.

' _Stupid Inmate! How dare he make me feel like this!'_

Caroline's breathing grew heavy as she gritted her teeth, her intakes of breath becoming sharp and loud. She had spent so much time in between the Inmate's visits to the Velvet Room trying to find ways to impress him and show – in her own way – just how much she respected him for the progress he'd made during his rehabilitation. He'd helped change her and Justine for the better, and realise the deceit staring them in the face for so long. He'd shown them a side of him that had convinced them he was the one who was going to free humanity from the ruin. But instead he'd chosen to doom his own kind because he thought that was the best way to reform society. Caroline wasn't sure if the Inmate had been planning this from the beginning or had become lost somewhere down the line. But just like Justine, she couldn't help but question if this had been their fault. Had they been the ones responsible for leading the Trickster astray under Yaldabaoth's manipulation?

Thankfully for Caroline, though, a distraction was underway to pull her from her thoughts.

The faint sound of slow approaching footsteps coming from the entrance to the left of their cell caused Caroline to open her eye and lower her hands away from her ears.

' _The inmate…!'_

Pushing herself up into a sitting position out of instinct amidst the rattling of her chains, Caroline turned to Justine and reached out a hand to grab her closest shoulder, roughly shaking it in attempt to rouse her.

"Justine!" The malicious girl called out to her in a loud whisper, pausing with her shaking when she saw Justine hunch her shoulders and heard her let out a small groan in response. "Wake up! He's returned!"

As Justine slowly blinked to try to get her bearings, Caroline moved her hand away and reached for her hat still on the floor behind her, putting it on her head and turning to face the bars to await Joker's appearance and his usual greeting of 'On your feet, inmates.'

However, by the time Justine was sitting up and putting on her own hat, Caroline was left gaping at the sight of an unfamiliar back of someone else entering into the Velvet Room; a short human with blonde hair and who looked nothing like the Trickster at all. The malicious warden gasped quietly and widened her eye as she watched the new arrival glance around in shock and awe at the cells at the back of the room and approach the empty desk with cautious steps, wondering for a moment if she was either seeing things or dreaming.

' _What the…?'_

Whilst Caroline was left confused and speechless, Justine remained oblivious as she glanced the former's way at hearing her gasp, her brow furrowing with confusion and concern.

"… Caroline? What's-?"

" _Shut up_!" Caroline hissed in a whisper and turned to glare at Justine, tilting her head slightly in the direction of the newcomer and prompting Justine to follow with her gaze.

Her lone eye widened as she reached a gloved hand to muffle the sound of her own gasp escaping her, watching alongside Caroline as the girl came to a stop in front of the desk and placed a hand on it.

"Hello?! Is anyone here?!"

But neither Justine nor Caroline answered her. They both stayed where they were currently sat as still as a pair of statues, deciding to merely observe the newcomer for now and not draw attention to themselves. That didn't stop them from whispering between each other, though.

"You're seeing what I'm seeing, right?" Caroline asked, keeping her eye on the girl all the while.

"… Yes."

"I haven't seen her before."

"Neither have I. I don't recall her being a contractor of the inmate."

"Then how did she get in here? Only the inmate has access to the Velvet Room!"

The twins paused when the girl spoke again, watching as she turned her gaze towards the left to get a better look at the room.

"I didn't mean to intrude! I came upon this place by accident! I swear!"

"It seems like she doesn't know where she is," Justine eventually whispered, her brow furrowing in thought as she saw the girl eventually glance at the desk. "And yet she still somehow found her way in…"

"Does that mean she just wandered in here?! The inmate must have been too careless with whatever lock mechanism he chose to use!"

"I disagree."

Caroline raised a brow and turned to Justine with a confused blink, just as the girl picked up Justine's clipboard and turned her body a little in their direction when she started reading the attached paper.

"Huh?"

"Access to the Velvet Room is limited. Regardless of the inmate's capabilities, only the ones chosen by our master can perceive the doors."

Caroline's eye widened in realisation as the girl continued to skim read the paper in the clipboard, flipping each piece over when she was finished with it and remaining oblivious to the pair's whispers as they stayed concealed by the dim lighting of their cell.

"Then… does that mean…?"

When Justine remained quiet and deepened her frown, Caroline focused her gaze back on the girl just as she paused on one particular page stuck to the clipboard. The girl furrowed her brow as she looked it over, even choosing to make vocal remarks about it in the belief she was the only one currently present.

" _Per_ - _so_ - _na_ Compendium…? What's that?" The girl paused briefly in her mumbles to flip the next page over, her brows raising as she continued reading and remarking aloud. "And there's this weird list of words I have no idea how to pronounce…"

Justine and Caroline continued to remain quiet as they observed the girl turning yet another page over. The pair of them recalled that despite the last pages attached to the clipboard getting muddy after they arrived in the real world, the inmate had replaced all of them with copies as he still needed to make use of the information Justine had kept on them. So it was no wonder this girl was reading through everything with ease. Yet Caroline mentally noted that Justine had been right with her earlier remark based on her reactions to what she was reading; this girl was clearly oblivious to the Metaverse and the Velvet Room itself before having arrived.

However, Caroline's eye was soon widening in alarm when she heard the girl mention a certain 'notes' page she never knew the Trickster had actually bothered to copy.

"… _Care_ - _o_ - _line_ 's notes? Does this clipboard belong to-?"

" _Don't read that_!"

At Caroline's yell and sudden movement to stand, the girl cried out in shock and stumbled backwards into the front of the desk upon being naturally startled, causing the clipboard to slip from her grasp and land face down on the circular rug with a loud thump. Placing a hand to her chest and breathing heavily to try to calm herself down from her brief scare, she glanced in the direction she'd heard the voice in, her eyes widening at the sight of the twin wardens in the dim lighting of the cell. Caroline, on the other hand, scowled the girl's way and balled her limp hands into fists at her front, prompting Justine's eye to droop in dismay as she made to stand and join her.

"Also, it's pronounced ' _Care_ - _o_ - _lean_ ', intruder! Get it right!"

"That shouldn't be a main concern at this moment in time…" Justine muttered, but this only resulted in the single-braided warden being glared at by Caroline.

Meanwhile, the girl was silent as she gave herself time to recover from her shock, her gaze flitting in between the two identical girls upon noticing the strange uniforms they wore and the shackles around their wrists. She wasn't able to see much else past the dim lighting from where she stood aside from outlines and such, and yet there was still so much that had happened to her since entering this strange room that she didn't even know what to question first. What this place was, who these strangely-dressed children were, why they were locked up and shackled in that cell…

But when Caroline glanced her way again alongside Justine, it prompted the girl to stand up straight and drop her hand back to her side, finally helping her find her voice.

"… S-Sorry. Where I come from, it's pronounced ' _Care_ - _o_ - _line_ '."

With Caroline still glaring at her and Justine staying quiet in favour of observing for now, the girl dared to take slow and cautious steps in the direction of the cell. Her eyes widened in shock as she finally saw the black eyepatches across one of each of the girls' eyes, leaving her to glance the two up and down as she came to a stop just in front of the bars.

"… Is… this supposed to be some kind of film set? Is that why you two are dressed like that? And why you're locked up in there?"

" _Hey_! We're the ones who should be asking the questions here!" Caroline yelled, causing the girl to lean back in alarm when she moved a step closer to the bars, whilst also being mindful of the ball and chain attached to her ankle.

"I agree," Justine added, frowning towards the girl in disapproval when the latter glanced her way. "This place exists for the purpose of our master. You're not supposed to be here."

"So tell us; how did you get in?!"

The girl briefly frowned in confusion at the names mentioned, but was soon deepening her frown out of guilt and raising her hands in front of her in surrender.

"I-I just happened to see this glowing door in the alleyway in Shibuya and unlocked it by accident-! I-I didn't mean to-"

The girl fell quiet when both Justine and Caroline interrupted her with loud gasps, their eyes widening in shock.

" _You unlocked it_?!"

The girl flinched at the twins' synced yell, slowly nodding and frowning in confusion.

"… _Yeah_. But I did say it was an accident-"

The girl was interrupted a second time by Caroline moving for the bars as fast as the ball and chain would allow, with her gloved hands reaching out to grab them with a tight grip.

"Tell us how you unlocked it!"

"Huh?"

"The door! How did you unlock it?!"

The girl frowned out of caution at this, taking a step back away from the bars.

"… Why do you want to know that?"

"That's none of your business! Now tell us how you got past the lock!"

The girl's frown deepened out of suspicion, prompting her to fold her arms across her front.

" _I don't know_ … You two look like you're supposed to be in there for a reason. Not to mention you're dodging my questions."

Caroline let out a growl of frustration and lowered her head towards the floor a little, with Justine slowly dragging herself forward to join her at the bars of their cell.

" _Look_. We don't have time for this! We need to know how to get out of here before he comes back!"

The girl raised a brow.

"… _Who_?"

"It doesn't matter 'who'! Just let us out!"

"But how can I let you out if I don't know what's going on? I don't want to get involved in anything that'll get me into trouble!"

When Caroline snarled and started shaking the bars back and forth in front of her, the girl gaped and backed up a further two steps, her eyes widening in shock at the display of anger coming from the child.

"Stop dodging the topic-!"

" _Caroline_." Caroline turned her head to Justine when she addressed her, her brow relaxing as she heard her out. "This isn't getting us anywhere."

"What else are we supposed to do, Justine?! If this human found her way past the inmate's lock on the Velvet Room, she might be able to get us out! She's the one not co-operating!"

"…"

Justine focused her gaze on the girl as the latter stayed still and silent in favour of observing the twins' interactions, her brow furrowing in thought.

"It's clear you want something from us. While I think that's presumptuous of you as an uninvited guest, the norm has forced us to adapt to… unorthodox methods." Justine paused to deepen her frown out of displeasure at what she was about to suggest. "… So how about we make a deal, then?"

"Wait, what?!" Caroline yelled and stared at Justine with her lone wide eye, unable to process what Justine was suggesting. "Why should _we_ have to make a deal with _her_?! She just needs to stop being so sceptical!"

But Justine chose to ignore Caroline, keeping her focus on the girl for the time to await her answer. The girl straightened out her posture and dropped her arms to her sides.

"… What kind of deal?"

Justine raised her right hand and moved it to indicate between her and Caroline, causing the chains of her shackles to rattle around a bit.

"We'll give you the opportunity to ask us one question, which should allow us to dispel your suspicions of us. But in exchange, you have to tell us how you accessed the Velvet Room."

Caroline blinked in surprise towards Justine at this.

"Huh. I suppose that isn't a bad deal, after all, as much as I hate to admit it..."

"Does that sound fair to you, intruder?"

After a moment of silence and glancing back and forth between the twins in the cell out of contemplation, the girl shrugged her shoulders and reached a hand to the back of her neck.

"I suppose so. Everything up until this point has been crazy enough for me already, so I might as well jump on the bandwagon and take this a step further…"

Justine nodded towards the girl with satisfaction whilst Caroline smirked, letting go of the bars and allowing her hands to dangle at her front.

"You heard what she said, intruder! _One question_. So, you'd better choose wisely if you want the right answers!"

"That's _Verity_ to you. _I do_ have a name, you know. But anyway…"

Taking a moment to think things through, Verity turned her gaze towards the desk behind her in the middle of the room, leaving both Caroline and Justine watching her in silence. It was only when her gaze locked with the clipboard lying on the ground face-down that Verity blinked in realisation, addressing the pair when she began to make her way towards it to pick it up.

"I'm going to guess this clipboard probably belongs to one of you, since one of your names is mentioned on it."

Caroline raised a brow at this as she watched Verity pick up the clipboard and walk her way back to the bars, flipping through the pages as she did so.

"What has that got to do with anything?"

Verity stopped before the bars and held the clipboard up so the twins could only see its blue back, an amused smile appearing on her face as she stopped on the page she was looking for.

"I don't know a lot about your current situation, but it's obvious based on your uniforms that you're probably not supposed to be in there. Which is why, just to be safe, I've decided to base my question on the contents of this clipboard. Because if your notes are on it, that must mean you're not a prisoner." Verity paused to glance down at the list in front of her. "So _Caroline_ , _without looking at the clipboard_ , can you tell me one thing that's written from your notes?"

Caroline's eye went wide at the question, prompting her cheeks to flush pink out of embarrassment and her head to shake repeatedly in response.

"W-Wait a minute…! C-Can't you pick something else-?!"

Verity's smile widened.

"I'm afraid not. I'm only allowed one question, and you told me to choose wisely. You have to give me my answer if you want me to help you."

Feeling the heat rise to her face, Caroline clenched her hands into fists and brought them up to cover her cheeks out of embarrassment, leaving Justine watching the situation beside her in silence.

"A-Argh-! T-This isn't fair-!"

"I don't see what the problem is here," Verity said, her amused smile turning into a smirk. "I mean, I already know what's written on it anyway. It's not gonna make much difference if you say it-"

"I don't care! I'm not saying it!" Caroline yelled and interrupted out of retaliation, closing her eye as she did so.

Justine let out a quiet sigh of defeat and closed her own eye, waiting a few seconds in silence before choosing to speak on Caroline's behalf.

"… 'Compliment him after he finishes the next task'-"

"Justine, no!"

Caroline was quick to react and move for the quiet warden when she realised what she was saying, placing a gloved hand over the other's mouth to stop her from saying anything else. The sight soon prompted Verity to start laughing, followed by Caroline glancing her way with a narrowed eye and her cheeks still flushed. Unlike Verity, she wasn't amused at all.

"Hmph! For a human who doesn't know who we are, you're real gutsy, huh?! That answer had better have been satisfying enough for you!"

Taking a quick breath to stop her laughter, Verity nodded and moved closer to the bars, closing the distance between them and pushing the clipboard through the gap for one of the girls to take. Justine was the one who raised her closest hand out to grip it, with Caroline letting her go and stepping away from the former as she secured it under her right arm with a satisfied huff.

' _It feels great to have this back.'_

"Yeah. That reaction was more than enough to make me believe you. So I'll keep up my side of things."

Using her hand to pull the left sleeve of her jacket down her arm a little, Verity exposed her bracelet and leaf charm and raised her arm for the twin wardens to see. The pair let out surprised gasps as their lone eyes caught sight of the latter.

"There was this weird circle thing in front of the door with seven funny shaped indents. I couldn't see six of them, but the one I could see matched the shape of my leaf charm. When I raised my arm close to the door, both the indent and my charm started glowing green. And that was when it opened on its own."

Justine quickly turned her gaze between her shackles, the leaf charm, and then the chains stretched in front of the cell bars, eventually resting it on Caroline just as the latter turned to look at her.

"Caroline…! They're the same colour!"

"Don't tell me… Has the inmate been using the same key for both the Velvet Room _and_ his cell? Ha. What an amateur!"

"But don't you know what this means, Caroline?! We might be able to use it to leave both the Velvet Room _and_ this cell!"

Gaping at Justine's words, Caroline turned her gaze back to Verity with a frown.

"Hey, intruder!"

Verity's eyes drooped in dismay.

"… _Verity_."

"Yeah, whatever-!" Caroline pointed towards the bracelet. "We need to borrow that charm of yours to get out of this cell, so if you could-"

Verity cut Caroline off by retracting her arm to her chest and taking a step back, causing the twins to blink in surprise at her actions.

" _No way_. This charm has _a lot_ of sentimental value for me. I'm not just going to hand it over!"

Caroline's frown deepened.

"Well, tough! _We need it_! Don't be difficult and just- Hey-!"

Caroline was cut off again by Justine grabbing her closest arm and pulling her away from the bars, moving the two of them further into the cell before briefly glancing at Verity with a nod.

"Please excuse us."

Verity remained silent as she watched Justine turn around again with a raised brow, leaving the twin wardens to whisper amongst themselves for now.

"Justine, what was that for?!" Caroline said in a low but angry tone, prompting Justine to scowl at her in disapproval.

"You were being too reckless."

"How was I being too reckless?! She's the one refusing to co-operate and just give us the key! We don't need her! We can get out of here on our own!"

"And then what, Caroline?"

Caroline fell quiet and blinked in surprise at Justine, whose frown deepened as a result.

"We don't have our Personas or control of the Velvet Room. And even if we do escape and make it to the real world, what will become of us then? We're just as powerless there as we are here." When Caroline's eye drooped, Justine let out a frustrated sigh and turned her gaze away to stare at Verity for a few seconds. "It is upsetting for me to suggest, but we don't have any other choice. We're going to have to temporarily team up with this human."

"WHAT-?!"

Justine raised a hand to cover Caroline's mouth when she yelled before returning to their whispering, not even bothering to glance Verity's way to see her blinking in surprise at the sudden outburst.

"I don't like the idea as much as you, Caroline, but we have to stay with her. At least until we definitely escape. And besides…" Justine paused to briefly side-glance Verity for a second time. "… I sense something special about her."

Caroline raised her hands to grab Justine's in front of her mouth and pull it away.

"You can't be serious! After _everything_ that's happened with the inmate, you're going to willingly put your trust in _another human_?! What if she betrays us like he did?!"

Justine blinked in shock at Caroline's rebuttal, causing her brow to relax out of guilt. Normally, this situation would have been the other way around. But it seemed to Justine that she and Caroline had switched roles since falling under the imprisonment of the Trickster.

"… Our master would have."

"…!"

Justine closed her eye and moved her right arm so her clipboard was pressed against her chest.

"Our master has defended his belief in humanity, only for Yaldabaoth to imprison him. Despite this, however, he used the last of his power to create a guide for the one who he believed would save them." Justine paused to open her eye again. "Yes, we feel as if our master's trust was abused. But when we stood against Yaldabaoth and the Trickster on the day of his betrayal, did we not do the same, Caroline? Did we not continue to defend our master's ideals in the face of the Trickster, despite befalling the same fate?"

Caroline was silent for a moment as Justine's words made her speechless, leaving her to gape at her in shock before she found the will to speak.

"Justine…"

It wasn't long before the malicious warden found a cheeky smile appearing on her face, her spirits having raised.

"Stop stealing my lines!"

When Justine gave a small relieved smile in return, Caroline didn't even give her confirmation regarding the idea. Instead she turned around and walked back to the bars of the cell, prompting Justine to follow once both of their smiles had vanished again.

"Hey, intruder!"

Verity huffed in annoyance as she watched the twin wardens return to standing in front of the bars.

"… You're never going to say my name, are you?"

"We want to make another deal with you."

When Verity raised both brows out of confusion, Justine took over to explain.

"We need your key so we can leave here. But instead of us borrowing it from you, we request that you unlock our cell and the door to the Velvet Room yourself."

"… Unlock everything myself?" Verity repeated, causing Caroline to smirk in amusement.

"I'm afraid you don't have much choice! You obviously don't know where you are, and coming back the way you came won't return you to the real world! You're going to need our help to guide you!"

"And all we ask in exchange is for you to use your key. Do that, and we shall return you to your world. I think that's a fair compromise."

Verity turned her gaze away for a moment to glance down towards her bracelet, falling into thought for the time being.

'… _I suppose they're right. I got into this place by accident. I don't even know where I am. So how am I supposed to find my way out?'_ Verity raised her gaze to Justine and Caroline as they awaited her answer. _'These two aren't supposed to be in there, and they seem to know more about this place than me. I don't think I've got much choice but to co-operate with them for now.'_

"… Alright. I don't have much choice, after all. Looks like we have a deal," Verity finally responded, focusing her eyes on the green chains crossed in an 'x' shape across the front of the bars of the cell. "So how do I unlock this door?"

Caroline gave a shrug of her shoulders.

"Ha! If we knew that, we wouldn't still be trapped here!"

Justine furrowed her brow in thought as she stared at the chains in front of them.

"Hm… Normally, Caroline would use her shock baton to remove them. But our captor currently has it, and it probably wouldn't work seeing as he changed the lock."

"We've seen him punch the chains off, but I don't think that'll work with you," Caroline added, giving Verity a quick glance over. "You don't look or sound like a Persona User."

Verity frowned in confusion.

"A what-?"

"Why don't you try doing what you did before for the Velvet Room?" Justine interrupted Verity with her suggestion, prompting Caroline to blink in realisation her way. "The same method may work twice."

Verity nodded in agreement, taking the steps necessary to close the gap between her and the cell.

"It's worth a try."

Both Caroline and Justine were quick to move backwards when Verity lifted her left wrist as close as she could to the chains in front of the cell, only for their eyes to widen out of shock when both the chains and the charm started glowing a bright green. Their gazes soon switched between their shackles and the balls attached their ankles when they started to glow a bright green as well, causing them to gasp in surprise alongside Verity when they quickly dispersed into thin air in motes of green light.

"What the-?"

Caroline became distracted along with Justine as the cell door before them dispersed in motes of blue light when the chains did the same in specks of green light, prompting Verity to gape and stumble backwards away from the cell. The twins and Verity stared each other down in silent shock with the gap now in the doorway, but both for different reasons; Verity because she couldn't believe what the heck had just happened, and the twins because… well…

"Just like the inmate…" Justine mumbled out of shock.

"… Who _are you_?" Caroline asked with her tone full of disbelief.

Their remarks brought Verity back to her senses, causing her to droop her eyes in dismay.

"Can we talk about this later? I thought you two were in a hurry."

The twin wardens blinked in realisation upon remembering they were free now, prompting Caroline to take the lead and start her dash out of the cell.

"Right! It's this way!"

Verity watched as Justine dashed after Caroline towards the doorway that she recalled having come through to get here. There were still so many questions she needed the answers to. But for now, with a sigh of annoyance, she decided she had no choice but to follow these two girls, proceeding to run after them before they got too far ahead of her. On the plus side, her anxiety regarding the situation had been completely forgotten for the time being.

' _What fresh hell have I fallen into?'_


	6. Chapter 6: Awaken to the Truth

**A/N: Thanks again to those who have been reviewing, following, favouriting, and reading this fanfiction. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. I was going to make this chapter a little longer, but when I got to a certain part I initially decided that was a perfect point to stop without it dragging on and losing the dramatics. But yeah. We've finally gotten to the part you guys have mostly been waiting for. Some of you might be disappointed, others might be surprised, and there may be a few of you who will be stuck in the middle. Don't worry, though. If you stick around at the end of the chapter, I'll go about briefly explaining my choice and the reasons why I did it for your benefit. Personally, I think it's a good twist, but you'll see. I wouldn't expect frequent updates from here on out, though. I'll be focusing some of my time on another fanfic I really need to update, so I'll be taking a small break from this one temporarily. It shouldn't be too long, though.**

 **Also, I forgot to mention this last chapter, but the whole thing with the pronunciation of Caroline's name was a little joke I threw in. When I first heard her name pronunciation in my first playthrough of Persona 5, I flipped out because that's not how I've heard it pronounced. I got used to it as I progressed, but I'm not sure if that's an actual alternate pronunciation of the name or they purposely did that so it rhymed with 'Justine'. *shrugs* But it doesn't matter. But anyway, onto the reviews.**

 **To the anon making 'Joker's in Smash' jokes... I like them as much as the next person, but please don't just spam the reviews section with them and then not say anything about my fanfic underneath it. You might think you're being funny, but it really is demoralising to a creator when someone makes jokes about something they've put their time and effort into and they don't receive proper feedback that gauges if people like it or not. I'm sure you meant it in good humour, but please be mindful of this next time if you decide to make any further jokes. That's all I ask.**

 **To Acallaris: Hey there, my friend! Long time no see! XD I wasn't expecting a review, so thank you for taking the time to write one. ^^ And yeah... I'm one of those writers who likes to put a lot of details into my chapters, so they do get pretty lengthy sometimes. It's worse in my other fanfics, though. Like... /Yow/. XD But I'm glad you're enjoying it and think I'm doing a good job, especially where Justine and Caroline are concerned. That's exactly what I was aiming to do for the twins. (Also, I see what you did there... ;) XD)**

 **And to the anon commenting about Atlus' 'idealism': You're entitled to your opinion, by all means. I know not everyone is going to agree or like the decisions I make in this fanfic, let alone enjoy certain games. You're not wrong in saying Ren's reasoning behind his actions is valid, but it's not his reasons that I'm trying to portray are distorted. It's his actions that are. Ren is perfectly valid to feel the way he does, but he's gone down the route that many members of society have a habit of doing in these kinds of situations; the route of 'generalising', whereby a person believes that every person should suffer the consequences of actions that were brought about by certain people. Just because there's a general consensus in society where most of them hold a certain belief, it doesn't mean /everyone else/ thinks the same way. It's like with you and me, for example. You claim that people generally believe people don't change and they want others to think and act for them, but I believe that people can change and dislike when others try and speak and act for me. I even make sure they know I don't like the latter, especially, by telling them that to their face. But I digress. Basically, Ren shouldn't strip the whole of humanity's freedom to think and act for themselves just because a certain amount of people treated him badly, and that is exactly why my OC is here and going against him. But that's just what I think, of course. I'd like to personally thank you, though, as your insight and opinion actually gave me inspiration for a specific part of this chapter. By this time, I assume you're not even reading this story anymore, since it looks like you didn't enjoy the Persona 5 game all that much with its 'stupid anime friendship', but if you are still here and are planning on reading this chapter, then kudos. I hope you don't mind, but I also borrowed some of your phrasing in your review, as I thought it was /very inspiring/. ;)**

* * *

Chapter 6: Awaken to the Truth

Walking away from Shibuya Station and towards Central Street with his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans, Ren dwelled in his thoughts and returned to the recent conversation he'd had with Yaldabaoth only moments ago. Although he hadn't originally planned on going anywhere in Shibuya after visiting Mementos, he wasn't able to get the recent conversation between him and the demiurge out of his head for some reason. He suspected it might have been related to the sudden feeling of dread that had occurred after he'd left the Depths of Mementos, causing him to make the decision of having a little walk around to try to clear his head. Ren knew he couldn't linger out in Shibuya for long, though.

He'd left Café Leblanc that morning without Morgana knowing, and the last thing he needed was for the feline to get worried about his prolonged absence. It was getting more and more difficult to hide his activities from his teammates now that he was occupied with the threat Verity posed (especially Morgana and Futaba), but he knew it was for the best they didn't know. Despite the path he'd chosen now, there was still a tiny part of him that cared enough for his friends to the point he wanted them to keep the original roots of the Phantom Thieves alive. This was his burden to bear as their leader, and there was no changing his mind on that.

Leaving his black blazer unbuttoned and exposing his cream sweater to the crowds of people who passed by him on either side, the frizzy-haired teen kept his gaze locked on his brown shoes as he recalled specific things the false god had said regarding Verity and her abilities, continuing his walk towards Central Street without looking where he was going but still relying on his hearing to guide him.

'… _**she has yet to awaken to the power of Persona and enter the Metaverse. She is still oblivious to the world you and your allies have been exposed to.'**_

'… _**being able to perceive the entrance to the Velvet Room does suggest she could possess abilities that rival yours.'**_

'… _ **it will not be enough to harm the contract we have made.'**_

' _ **She has little power to influence the masses now.'**_

Ren was unable to stop himself from clenching his hands into fists in his pockets. But it wasn't until they started shaking that he eventually forced himself to come to a stop, raising his head and finding himself standing beside the bookstore at the beginning of the street. He couldn't understand why Yaldabaoth's words were bothering him so much. He'd already decided he was going to deal with Verity should she ever enter the Metaverse of her own will, and yet… Was it because of how arrogant the false god sounded? Or something else he wasn't able to pinpoint? Or even the feeling of dread that continued to gnaw away at him like a mouse eating a piece of cheese?

'… _Why does this feel so familiar?'_

Relaxing his hands and removing one of them from his pockets to brush his fingers through his hair, Ren glanced in the direction of the bookstore and locked eyes with his reflection in the glass of the door. He knew this wasn't the first time he'd felt this way. He was sure a similar feeling had sprouted during the times where the shadows of the former Palaces they'd conquered had warned them of a Persona user with a black mask, who the group now knew as 'Goro Akechi'. Ren couldn't deny Akechi had certainly rivalled him as another Wild Card and that he'd proven to be a formidable foe, proving his worries right from the very beginning. Was he worried that Verity was going to turn out the same way, perhaps…?

' _Things are different this time around, though. Akechi was fighting for humanity's ruin, whereas Verity…'_ Ren trailed off and furrowed his brow in confusion, unable to complete his sentence. _'Wait._ _ **What would**_ _Verity be fighting for if we became enemies? Free speech? Being free from Yaldabaoth's control? Ruin like Akechi-?'_

Ren was quick to shake his head to rid himself of that last thought, forcing himself to turn away and continue his walk up towards the other end of Central Street.

' _No. She's not an evil person, even if her views oppose mine. And yet…'_

Ren's frown deepened as he slowed the pace in his walk, causing him to move abnormally slow in comparison to the other people speeding around him. Words he remembered Akechi telling him and his teammates before engaging in their final battle sprung into his head, causing his eyes to widen in shock as he realised the meaning they held and prompting him to come to a sudden stop in the middle of the street.

' _ **My targets were all doing the same damn thing in this eat or be eaten world. All I did was remove their evil from society.'**_

' _The more I think about it, the more I realise just how similar my current situation is to back then with Akechi; him committing horrific deeds for the sake of his goals and me opposing them. And now I'm the one committing what many would consider 'horrific' deeds, meaning Verity could eventually become the one to oppose them…'_

Ren reached his hand to clutch at the front of his sweater as he felt his forehead growing moist, causing the dread he could feel swirling within him to worsen.

' _Have I… Have I fallen as far as Akechi did…?'_

However, it only took Ren two seconds to shake his head and straighten out his posture to regain his composure. Letting go of his sweater and dropping his hand back into his jean's pocket, the teen continued his walk as if nothing had happened, taking a quick deep breath in and out to calm himself down.

' _Don't be ridiculous. Akechi was trying to destroy humanity. I'm trying to save it. I made the right choice. I'm reforming society for the better. They don't need free will, just someone who is willing to guide them-'_

It wasn't long, though, before Ren caught sight of the door to the Velvet Room out of the corner of his eyes as he'd begun to pass the alleyway, prompting him to stop again and glance in its direction out of instinct and cut his train of thought short. The second his eyes locked with the door, however, he soon recognised that something was obviously off with it. The door was wide open when he knew it shouldn't have been, with the leaf shaped indent on the lock mechanism glowing a bright green when he knew it shouldn't have been glowing at all.

Had he not known any better, Ren would have been shocked and confused as to why the door was in this state and questioning who could have possibly opened it. But instead, because of what he'd seen going on in the past week, his reaction was completely different. His brow contorted into an annoyed scowl, his hands clenched into fists in the comfort of his jean pockets, and his teeth gritted so hard that adding any more pressure could have possibly snapped his jaw.

' _Verity… She has a key to that lock.'_

It was the only conclusion he could come to, since he knew he hadn't lost his; he could feel the cold touch of the leaf charm in his right jean's pocket pressing against the backs of his fingers.

' _Dammit!'_

Without another moment's hesitation, Ren removed his hands from his pockets and broke out into a mad dash straight for the open doorway, his scowl deepening.

' _Tch! 'You need not worry', huh? Looks like you were wrong, Yaldabaoth.'_

* * *

As I followed the two strangely dressed twin girls back up a blue flight of stairs I'd never even noticed was there to begin with (when I'd appeared here through that door, I'd found myself standing just in front of the corridor that had led towards the room), it slowly dawned on me that I'd become entangled in a complicated web of which I knew nothing about. I hadn't been here for very long, and yet already I was picking up on all sorts of words and names in association with this place; 'Velvet Room', 'Persona', 'Persona user', 'Persona Compendium'… And those were just the words I could pronounce. But despite not understanding most of it, my common sense was able to help me at least use what I'd seen to try to put together some kind of logical explanation.

' _They've used 'Velvet Room' multiple times in our conversation to refer to that prison-like area we were in a moment ago. But I suppose that must be what it is; a prison. There were prison cells, and those two girls are wearing strange uniforms…'_

I briefly paused as my gaze locked with the backs of said twins running in front of me. I was only just about able to keep up with them and see them through the darkness around us. They were fast for kids.

' _They also mentioned they had a 'master', didn't they? And I thought I heard the word 'inmate' being thrown around during their private conversation. I wonder if the 'inmate' is the 'captor' that locked them in there in the first place. Maybe they're an escaped convict and those girls were guarding them…'_

I shook my head in disbelief and slowed down to a stop at finally reaching the top of the stairs, placing a hand to my forehead.

' _What am I saying?! Am I actually believing all of this?! I don't even know what's real anymore! I'm just going along with this madness like it's supposed to be normal! But is it?! Is it really?!'_

"Intruder! Over here!"

I raised my head in the direction of the girl with her hair put into twin buns (the one who I think was called 'Caroline') when she called for me, prompting me to walk forward to where the pair were standing in front of – what I guessed was – the exit to this place. It was a large metal door that rounded at the top, where a bright red glowing light was placed that made it come across as ominous. But in the middle of this door was the same circle lock mechanism I'd seen the first time (including with the six hidden indents around the outside and the only one that was still visible in the middle), which is what Caroline quizzed me on by the time I'd approached them and she'd pointed a finger towards it.

"Is that the lock mechanism you saw before?"

When I gave a nod of confirmation, I watched the other girl with the single-braid ('Justine', I think I heard her name was…) place a gloved hand to her chin and furrow her brow as she looked it over.

"… How peculiar. I don't ever recall our master using something like this."

"It has to be the work of that false god, right?" Caroline asked, prompting Justine to nod in agreement.

"It has to be. From the beginning of his rehabilitation, the inmate was provided his abilities through him. I do not doubt he has granted him further power to aid in his endeavours…"

Letting out a loud huff of annoyance, Caroline focused her gaze on me as she took a step back.

"Well, whatever. You just go ahead and unlock it."

I scowled, but still proceeded to walk forward towards the door and hold up my left wrist when I was close enough.

"… ' _Please_ ' would have also been acceptable, but I'll let that slide."

I didn't bother to glance behind me to see the reactions of the twins, instead choosing to watch both the charm and the matching indent light up a bright green and the shapes covering the other indents dispersing as they did before.

' _Should I even be calling them 'twins' just because they look alike? … Meh. It doesn't matter.'_

I showed no reaction to what was happening, since I'd already witnessed this once; although I did frown when I thought I heard the sound of something raising up from the other side. But I did expect reactions from Caroline and Justine, who I thought I heard gasp as the door started to swing forward and open.

"Exactly as described…" Justine muttered.

" _So that's how he did it_?" I thought I heard Caroline pause to click her tongue. "I'll admit, he did well in hiding the key from us."

Of course, I wasn't calm for long. When the door opened all the way and revealed what was on the other side, I was expecting to find something similar to what I was used to seeing in Tokyo. What I saw instead caused my jaw to drop.

Amongst the black and red that streaked across the walls and flooring of whatever place we had entered, rows of box-like cells glowing red and housing one person each lined the walls currently facing me. It was almost like the small room I had walked into a moment ago, expect that one was much smaller and looked a little more inviting. This area, however, was wider and was convincing me that I'd taken a wrong turn into the inside of some monster's stomach.

'… _What the hell?'_

Even as Justine and Caroline walked ahead of me and I was forced to follow them upon impulse, my gaze would not leave the walls. I was turning both my body and head to get a good look at all the faces hiding behind the bars of the cells they occupied, until I was eventually walking backwards and had to force myself to stand still with a slight stumble. I didn't recognise any of the people, but I still couldn't help feeling uneasy and freaked out with what I was seeing.

"What is this place…?" I spoke without thinking.

"The Depths of Mementos," Justine answered, finally allowing my gaze to pry away to glance at her and Caroline standing calmly behind me. "Normally, the entrance to the Velvet Room would not lead here. But its recent fusion with Mementos has placed us in the heart of the public's palace…"

"Mementos…? 'Public's Palace'…? What are you-?"

"Don't bother explaining, Justine! She's not going to get it!" Caroline interrupted, rolling her eyes and glancing around the area with a frown. "But it looks like we're too far away from the palace's entrance to make a quick getaway. Without our Personas, we can't protect ourselves from the Shadows if we're spotted."

I frowned in confusion at Caroline mentioning 'Personas' and 'Shadows', still having no idea what these two were talking about. These two were certainly unique despite looking similar, with one seeming calm and collected and the other appearing rude and kind of strict. But both of them were blunt and held the same air of confidence when it came to staying true to their 'role', whatever that was…

I eventually noticed Justine briefly glancing me up and down with a thoughtful look on her face, tucking her clipboard further under her arm as she did so.

"I wonder… Do you have the Metaverse Navigator?"

"… _The what_?"

" _Metaverse Navigator_ ," Caroline repeated, placing her hands to her hips. "She's talking about the app on your phone. You should remember seeing something like that if you have it, right?"

My eyes widened in realisation at Caroline's explanation.

"A phone app? Oh!"

Reaching a hand into the pocket of my jacket, I brought out my phone and unlocked it. I noticed that there didn't appear to be any signal in this place, but decided not to focus on that for now. It wasn't important.

Seeing the strange black and red nameless app still on my screen, I turned it around to show Caroline and Justine, pointing towards it when the pair moved closer to get a better look with curious blinks.

"Are you talking about this one?"

After staring at it for a few seconds, Justine nodded.

"Indeed. That is the Metaverse Navigator we speak of. I was not expecting you to have it."

I turned my phone towards me so I could see the screen again.

"Yeah. It's been there for the last week or so and won't go away no matter what I do. I've never actually used it. But if you're calling it a 'navigator', does that mean pressing it will get us out of here?"

Caroline smirked with satisfaction.

"You're catching on surprisingly quick for someone who knows nothing about the Metaverse!"

"But you are correct," Justine added. "The purpose of the navigator is for a Persona user to enter and exit the Metaverse."

"You mean this place?"

"This is _Mementos_ , you dummy! We've already told you that!" Caroline replied, shaking her head in dismay. "The Metaverse is where places _like_ Mementos exist! Think of it as a world that exists alongside yours."

" _Right_ …"

My response betrayed my uncertainty at Caroline's attempted explanation, but I didn't let it stop me from getting my confirmation. It was hard to process this information; however, I knew I just had to go along with it for now. I could get answers out of them another time.

"So, if I were to press this _right now_ , it would return me to Shibuya?"

"It would. And not just because Shibuya is where Mementos is…"

Caroline mumbled that last part, but I still managed to pick it up either way. I chose not to remark on it as she scowled at me.

"Enough of the questions! Just go ahead and-"

"Hey! What are you doing there?! Where are your restraints?!"

When Caroline was interrupted by a deep and distorted voice, all three of us turned our heads towards the left. A black and red coloured figure who looked suspiciously like a warden wearing a white mask was approaching us with a black baton in hand, with wisps of black rising from its feet.

"You're not allowed outside the cells without restraints! Are you outsiders?!"

"A Shadow!" Caroline said with a growl. "We need to run!"

I glanced at Caroline with a surprised blink.

"Wait. That's a 'Shadow'-?"

"Just run away already!"

When Caroline turned towards the right and started to run away from the area, Justine and I were soon following her without objection, with me shoving my phone back into my jacket pocket so I didn't lose it. I had no idea what was going on, so I knew all I could do was trust Caroline and Justine for now. Although, in this case, it was obvious to me that being spotted properly wasn't a good thing…

I didn't dare look back as I heard the warden – or _Shadow_ as Caroline said – yell as we tried to make our escape.

"There are escaped inmates outside of the quarantine cell! Capture them at once!"

* * *

Joker thought his timing into this situation couldn't have been any better. After making his dash into the Velvet Room, he was genuinely surprised to discover that the twin wardens were no longer in their cell and that said cell was unlocked. He had been quick to deduce that Verity was the one responsible, and headed straight for the Velvet Room's entrance to make sure the door of the quarantine cell in the Depths of Mementos hadn't been unlocked.

Upon arriving there however, Joker found himself coming to an abrupt stop at the top of the stairs at seeing not only the door to the quarantine cell wide open, but also a small horde of Shadows heading off towards the right. He could hear the voice of one commanding Shadow as they gave the rest of the group their orders.

"Don't let them get away! Outsiders must be eliminated!"

"…"

Joker briefly closed his eyes.

' _They must have fled into the Palace to escape from the Shadows. Looks like they didn't have time to use the Nav.'_

Opening his eyes and turning away so his back faced the opened metal door, Joker placed his hands in the pockets of his tailcoat and began his walk down the stairs.

' _If I give chase to them as well, it'll get too messy. I'm still a technical enemy of the Shadows, too.'_ Joker paused to let out an annoyed sigh at the situation. _'I was hoping to avoid this. But it looks like I'll have to deal with her at a later date. For now, I'll let the Shadows deal with them. After all, there's still a chance they won't make it out of the Palace alive…'_

* * *

Caroline and Justine had taken the lead by the time the Shadows had chosen to give chase to them, having Verity follow behind as the trio ran in the direction of the Palace's entrance. Between the two of them, the twin wardens continually glanced behind them a number of times to make sure Verity was still there, since they appeared to be faster than her. Admittedly, Caroline and Justine had never been inside of this Palace before, so they had no idea where they were going. But Caroline had enough common sense to know that they didn't need to know. They had the app, after all. So long as they could find somewhere to hide, it would buy them the time they needed to use it. Caroline wasn't actually sure if the Metaverse Navigator worked anywhere in a Palace aside from the entrance, but it wasn't like they had much time to be questioning any of this. Risks would be needed to be taken in this situation.

Caroline and Justine found themselves running into a wide and open area with tall, black pillars lined in front of a black wall stretching across to their right. As they dashed in between them, Caroline brought herself to a sudden stop beside one part that was covered in red markings which she'd spotted out of the corner of her eye, turning her head towards it with a surprised blink.

' _Is this a door?'_

It took a few seconds for Justine to realise Caroline wasn't following her, meaning that when she stopped she ended up being a few steps ahead of her. Because Verity had been running behind them, though, she was quick to stop closer to Caroline than Justine was. But unlike the two girls, Verity was soon hunched over with her hands on her thighs, her breathing heavy as she tried to catch it from her excessive exercise.

"Caroline?"

Caroline turned to Justine when she addressed her.

"I think this is a door."

"Then what are you waiting for?! Open it! We need to hide!" Verity replied in a breathy tone, prompting Caroline to scowl her way.

"Don't you order me around-!"

Caroline cut herself off when she heard Verity's breathing grow heavy and saw her place a hand to her chest, prompting both her and Justine to frown in confusion at the actions brought about.

"… Something wrong?" Caroline asked, causing Verity to raise her head as her body started trembling, her hand now scratching at her shirt like she was trying to get rid of something.

"Panic attack…" Verity attempted to speak, but her voice came out too quiet and breathy for either of the twins to understand what she'd said.

"What was that?"

" _Panic attack_." Verity tried repeating herself a little louder, but all it did was cause Caroline to tilt her head to the side.

"Huh?!"

"She said 'Panic attack'," Justine finally said out of clarification, her brow furrowing in thought. "I'm not sure what that means…"

"Well, based on what I'm seeing it's not a good thing!" Caroline placed her hands to her hips. "Hey! Snap out of it!"

" _I would if I could_ …!" Verity tried to yell in between gasps for breath, closing her eyes tight and shaking her head back and forth. "I have no idea where I am…! W-We're being chased by some weird- weird _thing_ …! I-I shouldn't have gone through that door…! I-I need to get out of here-!"

"And you're going to, so just calm down!"

" _It's not that simple_ …!"

Unbeknownst to the pair, however, a nearby Shadow Warden had spotted them and had started its charge towards Verity from behind as she straightened out her posture. Only Justine noticed this, causing her to briefly gasp in surprise as Caroline made her retaliation.

"What else am I supposed to do-?!"

"Behind you-!"

Justine's interrupting yell of warning towards Verity was said too soon, as seconds after speaking she could only watch on with a widened eye at the sight of the Shadow Warden ramming the side of its body into her back.

With Verity crying out in pain, the force of the attack was strong enough to send her flying forward, leaving Justine and Caroline gaping as they watched her faceplant a nearby pillar and let out a grunt before landing flat on her back on the ground.

" _Ow-!_ Son of a-!"

As Verity reached her hands up to cover her nose, Justine was the first of the two wardens to break out of her shock and react at sighting the Shadow walking over to their incapacitated charge. The quiet warden ran forward and came to a stop in between the pair, facing the Shadow and causing it to stop as she spread her legs apart and raised her clipboard behind her head, taking on a battle stance.

Caroline briefly gaped at Justine's sudden boldness, but it didn't take long for her to realise what she was doing.

' _She's trying to buy time for the human to run. I don't know what she was playing at a moment ago, but she can't stay in the Metaverse any longer. She won't make it out on her own. … Dammit, Justine!'_

Caroline was the next one to run forward and drop to her knees beside Verity still lying on her back on the floor, just as the Shadow Warden took a swing at Justine with its baton and clashed it with her clipboard when she brought it forward as a temporary shield. Giving the girl a quick glance over, it looked like she wasn't having her 'panic attack' anymore.

' _I guess this isn't so bad. We're doing a good thing, aren't we?'_

" _Hey_." Caroline placed a hand to Verity's closest shoulder and gave it a light shake, scowling down at the biologically older girl as she did so. "You okay?"

"I think so," Verity gave a muffled response, dropping her hands away from her nose after doing so. "The bridge of my nose is stinging, though."

"… Good."

Listening to the grunts of Justine and the Shadow behind her – alongside the consistent thumps made as their weapons collided – Caroline took her hand away and glanced in the direction of the door whilst Verity lifted her upper-body so she was sitting up.

"There's a room over there that'll protect you from the Shadows. Hide in there and use the Metaverse Navigator to return to your world. Just press it and it'll automatically send you out of here."

Caroline faced Verity again when she was met with silence, seeing her staring back at her with a shocked blink.

"You mean… _on my own_?"

Caroline's scowl deepened.

" _Duh_! Why else do you think I'm telling you this information?"

"But what about our-?"

"Forget it."

Verity's eyes widened as Caroline got to her feet and turned her gaze to Justine, who she witnessed shoving the Shadow Warden backwards with her clipboard before she started running away into the open area. As the Shadow stumbled backwards and tried to regain its balance, Caroline allowed her gaze to soften as she glanced Verity's way for a moment.

"We shouldn't have dragged you into this. Sorry, but thanks for the help." Caroline paused at feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, turning her head away when they flushed a light pink out of embarrassment. "So, just go, alright?!"

Verity was silent as she watched Caroline run after Justine without a word, which happened to be around the time the Shadow Warden had managed to regain its balance. She kept her wide eyes locked on the backs of the twins as they fled away from the area, being pursued by the lone Shadow and the five more who arrived from around the corner.

"Don't let them get away! They've escaped from the quarantine cell!"

* * *

I wanted to get up and move. But my body wasn't in sync with my thoughts, at all. My limbs felt numb, as if overcome with shock. Was I feeling guilty at the idea of abandoning these two after the change of heart they'd seemingly had? Was I just in too much shock at this whole situation?

' _Why? Why can't I move?'_

I couldn't take my eyes off Justine and Caroline as they continued their run, but the pair didn't get very far by the time the six Shadows had succeeded in surrounding them. I heard the girls cry out in sync and watched them getting shoved to the floor on their fronts, seeing their arms pinned to their backs before the Shadows gathered around in a circle and blocked them from view.

The sight of the gathered Shadows brought forth a flash of memory that overlapped with my vision for a few seconds, portraying a scene of me hiding under a white table cloth and watching the silhouette of a man backing away from the silhouette of a woman.

' _What the-? What was that?!'_

" _Get off_!" Caroline's yell of anger quickly brought me back to reality, leaving me to watch as the Shadows parted equally on both sides.

In doing so, they pulled both Justine and Caroline to their feet, with their arms restrained against their backs. Justine's clipboard was on the floor. It appeared their distraction had made them completely forget about me, as they'd seemingly planned.

"These two escaped from the quarantine cell," one of the Shadow Wardens said to the others. "They need to be returned immediately."

Hearing those words only caused Caroline to start wriggling her body around in retaliation and close her eye.

" _Let us go, you insolent-_!"

She cut herself off with a grunt when one of the Shadows raised a knee to catch her in the gut, causing her body to slump in surrender and Justine to watch on with a horrified look on her face.

"Silence!"

"Caroline…!"

I wanted to pry my eyes away. I wanted to get up and move. But I couldn't bring myself to do any of it. I felt like a statue; a statue that was forced to watch the world moving on before its eyes, unable to do a thing.

However, in that moment of helplessness, a familiar confident-sounding voice entered my head, forcing everything occurring around me to become nothing but a blur.

' _ **What's this? Are you playing the coward for a second time?'**_

' _What the-? Whose-?'_

"-AH!"

I covered my hands over my forehead when I felt a sharp pain attack it out of nowhere, causing me to lower my head towards the floor as the voice spoke again.

' _ **You were already the witness to similar events in a time you have long forgotten. Are you planning on doing the same again?'**_

' _That voice… Is it mine?!'_

The pain was unbearable but forced enough adrenaline through me to have me getting to my feet, my hands remaining gripping my hair and forehead. It was so bad I wanted to rip my hair out.

' _ **Were the words you spoke so confidently before empty? Did they not mean anything?'**_

I had no idea what was going on, but through the gritting of my teeth and the pain I found myself objecting, shaking my head back and forth multiple times and even responding out loud.

" _No_ …! _I meant them_ …!"

I stumbled backwards into the pillar as the voice – which was apparently mine – laughed in triumph.

' _ **Very well, then. Your will has become clearer to me. It is time for you to reveal your other self.'**_ My pulse pounded in my ears as she continued. ' _ **I am thou, thou art I. Your will of rebellion, nurtured for years from a sapling, shall finally bare itself towards those who oppress your justice!'**_

I gaped when I felt and saw something flash in front of my face and cover the areas around my eyes, giving me the sudden urge to reach for it and start to pull.

' _ **The fruits of the wrath that have festered within you can now bloom! Come, awaken to the truth that has been in front of you all along!'**_

All I could remember after that was yanking whatever it was across my face away and throwing my head back at the immense pain, screaming at the top of my lungs as my vision became clouded by bright, glowing blue flames.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

* * *

With the Shadows having been preoccupied with subduing Caroline and Justine, the group had failed to notice the events that were unfolding behind them. But by the time they had found themselves witnessing the sight of the glowing blue flames engulfing the area, the Shadows were left crying out in shock as the force of the flames spreading throughout the area sent them flying backwards. This included the ones restraining Justine and Caroline, forcing the twins onto the floor and wrapping their arms in front of their faces to protect themselves from the sudden but strong gusts. Despite the confusing circumstances, however, it didn't take a genius for the two to work out what was going on.

' _N-No way…!'_

' _It can't be…'_

The twin wardens stayed that way until they felt the gusts die down, allowing them both to lower their arms and glance in the direction where Verity was whilst the Shadow Wardens recovered from their landings and got to their feet. Justine and Caroline found themselves gasping loudly and simultaneously at the sight they came to behold, out of shock, confusion and also slight awe.

Verity stood with her legs spread apart, her shoulders slumped, and her head hanging limp, with an outfit change to boot. Instead of wearing her usual casual, modern clothing, it had been replaced with an old-fashioned, Victorian styled outfit. In place of her jacket and shirt was now a black, long-sleeved button-up coat with a red jabot stuck in the collar that had 'F.X.O.7' in white stitching on it. Replacing her leggings was a red, ruffled knee-length skirt that stretched past the coat. And instead of her regular green boots, she now had black ones that reached past her knees. Of course, it wasn't just the outfit that had drawn the twins' attention.

The Persona that hovered above Verity was one that neither Justine nor Caroline recognised or recalled ever seeing in the Persona Compendium. The Persona in question was depicted as a teenage girl close to Verity's age with long, flowing, bright green hair and matching eyes, wearing a dark green duster coat, a dark green bowler hat, a white short-sleeved dress, and dark green boots. Thin, green vines curled around the Persona's arms and legs and a broadsword with a light green blade was attached to its waist via its scabbard.

Justine and Caroline remained speechless as they stared at this unknown Persona in silence, giving Verity the chance to make her move as she raised her head. They had been expecting Verity to awaken to a Persona at some point, but they hadn't been expecting it to be so soon, or to even be one they'd never seen before.

Verity stared ahead at the Shadow Wardens as they took on battle-like stances, prompting her to give a smug smile and start to walk forward one slow step at a time.

" _Finally_ … You don't realise how freeing it is to let my hidden wrath take form after being sealed away all this time!"

She stopped halfway when one of the Shadow Wardens near the front of the formation held out their baton towards in a threatening manner.

"How dare you, intruder! How dare you disrupt the peace of the Prison of Regression! The prisoners here desire to be imprisoned! If you do not leave willingly, we will eliminate you!"

Justine and Caroline blinked in surprise when Verity let out a loud laugh and briefly threw her head back.

" _Oh_ , is that so? Because it seems you haven't noticed that the two girls in front of you who you've tried to imprison _don't want that._ How blind of you!"

Verity lowered her head again to see the Shadow Wardens staring at her in deathly silence, prompting her to place a hand to her hip.

"You know what annoys me about people? They _love_ to generalise! They seem to think that _everyone_ wants the same thing; that just because a _few_ people state a certain opinion, _everybody else_ has that same opinion. And anyone who says otherwise is apparently being 'stupid' and 'unrealistic'. Well, I've got some bad news for you guys." Verity paused to lean forward and move her hand to her chest, narrowing her eyes the Shadow's way. " _I_ don't share society's opinion."

The Shadows briefly glanced around at one another as Verity stood up straight and held her hands out towards her surroundings, with Caroline and Justine remaining silent and hanging on to her every word; like they were having an epiphany.

"The people inside of those cells don't want to change. According to you, they would rather lose their freedom to think for themselves and have someone else speak and act for them; like the Phantom Thieves, for example. But I'm not like them. _I want to change_ , and I'd rather speak and act for myself than have someone else do it for me."

Verity held out a hand palm-up towards the Shadow Wardens with a frown.

"If I have to stand against society and be called 'stupid' and 'unrealistic' for wanting an 'idealised' future where people can continue thinking for themselves, then so be it! I'll happily start by taking down you measly Shadows!"

Justine and Caroline had their eyes widen in awe by this time, but this only lasted for a few seconds when the Shadow Warden yelled its warning.

"I warned you, outsider! Your kind aren't welcome here! You must be eliminated!"

Justine and Caroline glanced behind them when they heard the sounds of the six Shadows switching forms, prompting them to push themselves to their feet and run in Verity's direction (with Justine collecting her clipboard along the way) as two Nebiros, Liliths, and Melchizedeks appeared in their places. Verity waited until Justine and Caroline had passed her before raising her left wrist, where her bracelet and leaf charm were still visible.

"Tch! I'd like to see you try!"

Her leaf charm started glowing a bright green for a few seconds, before its glow intensified and its shape shifted and stretched outwards. By the time Verity was reaching her hand towards the forming object the glow had dissipated, revealing a long sword with a dark green handle and light green blade now clasped in her hand, which held a close resemblance to the sword 'Excalibur'.

With Justine and Caroline stopping a small distance away to watch the ensuing battle, Verity held the blade at her side and raised her left hand with a scowl.

"Now, it's time to unleash our wrath upon them… Lend me your strength, _Ira_!"

* * *

 **A/N: So...**

 _ **Verity's** **Persona**_ _**and outfit**_ : **Yes, her Persona is completely fictional and original... in a sense. From what I've seen for Persona 5, the Personas given to the main cast and even certain antagonists are based on fictional/real life people through history. In Verity's case, though, I purposely made up her Persona as part of the plot for this fanfic... which I can't mention because it's technical spoilers. But I will say that if you know what 'Ira' is the Latin name for, you'll probably understand where I'm going with this. Also, if you pay close attention to aspects of Verity's Metaverse outfit and her Persona's appearance, you should notice that there are subtle references to a real-life thief Verity kind of follows in terms of backstory /a tad/. I'll let you guys guess them before I reveal the answer in the author's notes next chapter.**

 _ **Verity's** **Weapon:**_ **Her sword is based appearance-wise on the legendary sword of King Arthur, 'Excalibur'. I did this on purpose, as it's a reference to the Arcana her Persona falls into. Again, I'll let you guys try to guess before I eventually reveal it. I can bet it won't be hard to work out, though.**

 _ **The Meta-Nav:**_ **I did try to look up how the Nav works, but the wiki didn't provide much information about where a user can use it in a Palace. And I can't remember much from the anime with their portrayal, either. But I assume that since it has been proven in-game that Persona users can enter a Palace from any part of the building it's located in in reality (*cough*Madarame Arc*cough*), then it's possible for a similar thing to happen from somewhere like a safe-room. I mean, I think the only reason the game specifically has you exiting from the entrance to a Palace is just for the sake of the game mechanics. If those three had tried to get to the entrance of the Depths of Mementos without their Personas, realistically, I think they wouldn't have made it. Hence why I decided to have the Nav work from a safe room. It's not officially canon, but then again this is my fanfic so... as long as it makes sense in some form... XD**


	7. Chapter 7: Will of Rebellion

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting the chapter out. I've been having medical complications acting up that have slowed down my progress in getting this done. This is the first time I've really attempted to write a 'battle scene' of sorts into a fanfiction (at least properly), so I apologise if it turned out quite crappy. I was trying to find the right balance between a lot of detail and little detail whilst switching back and forth between the dialogue. It's not as easy as you might think. ^^' Thank you again to those who have been favouriting, following, reviewing and even reading this fanfiction. It's nice to see people are enjoying it despite my original twist on things. Please stay tuned for end notes at the bottom of this fanfic as I address things mentioned in the previous author's notes.** **But anyways, time to answer reviews.**

 **To the anon addressing the parallels between Ren and Akechi: yeah, that's sort of what I was going for. It just so happened that when I was writing this chapter, I noticed the ironic parallels I'd made between Ren and Verity from Ren and Akechi, and I thought it would be a good idea to throw that in there and have Ren question his own resolve. I didn't like Akechi all that much, but considering Ren has now taken on the antagonist role of this situation I thought it was a good idea to bring him into it. But nice to see you're aware of what I was getting at regarding Verity's Persona. I'll be expanding more on that in the end notes.**

 **To Kersplunk: Not even close. Nice try, though. XD But I'll be going into more detail in the end notes about that anyways, so don't worry about it. ^^**

 **To the anon who I last responded to in the previous chapter:** **No harm done, buddy (I don't mean that sarcastically, just to clarify). Like I said, you have a right to your opinion. We don't all like the same things. I agree with you that P5's story wasn't perfect. It had its flaws. But I enjoyed the story, regardless. But of course, that is also my opinion. I didn't think you disliked everything the game offered. I just thought based on what you'd said you just generally didn't enjoy the experience overall. But regardless of which part of society you were focusing on, my points still stand, too. If you look back over history, there have been people who have overthrown kings and such because they didn't want them to speak and act for them. Heck, even today, there are specific things in place that people have used to go against those in power and have their voices heard; petitions, voting, protests, etc. So, when it comes down to it, we're both right. Despite society's basis, there's always going to be opposition in some form. I am surprised to see you do like this story, though. Because you seemed to focus more on the parts of the story you didn't like and didn't appear to mention anything you enjoyed about it, I naturally assumed you didn't enjoy the direction I was taking it in. That's also why it was hard for me to truly discern if you were a troll or just stating your opinion, since in my experience critique-like views normally follow the three step rule; likes, dislikes, and suggestions for improvement, whilst troll reviews solely focus on the negatives and sometimes insult the writer. But it's fine. No hard feelings. Also, the ending part of the chapter wasn't a jab at you. I know better than to ruin my work with my emotions. The 'wink face' I put in the end notes was supposed to be the jab to make my sentence come across sarcastic. So, I apologise for that. ^^' I'm not good with confrontation, anonymous or not. Genuinely, though, your wording did turn out to be good inspiration, as they matched my OC's situation perfectly. So thanks for that. I don't normally bring my fights into my work, so I won't do that in the future. But when it does come to trolls, I find taking the fire they throw at you and turning it into something different that's creative and inspiring is much better than letting it get to my head, you know?**

 **And to PowerRangersOfLight: Why, thank you very much. ^^ I'm glad to see you like the ideas I've incorporated into this.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Will of Rebellion

Justine and Caroline remained stood where they were and watched in silent shock as Verity and Ira made their first attack, with the former calling out the attack name just as Ira pulled her sword free from the scabbard strapped to her waist.

"Ira, _Magaru_!"

The twins focused on Ira when she swung her sword behind her and quickly brought it forward to fire a gust of green wind stretching outwards towards the six Shadows, taking a moment to observe the Persona's attacks and movements. Whereas one of the Liliths and Nebiros managed to guard and took little damage despite getting knocked backwards a bit, the remaining four Shadows who failed to dodge found themselves being knocked further back than they'd probably expected. However, as a result of them being weak to wind-type attacks, the Melchizedeks of the group quickly dropped to the ground in a dazed state, going from their former hovering positions down onto one knee.

"Intriguing," Justine muttered, her eye remaining locked onto Ira as she straightened her posture and held her sword across her front in a defensive stance. "Awakening to a Persona we have never seen before… This is far from what I was expecting."

" _That's_ what you're focusing on right now?!" Caroline responded in a slightly raised tone, prompting the quiet warden to turn her way with a surprised blink. "Did you forget what she just said?! You know, about the Phantom Thieves?!"

Whilst Justine's and Caroline's conversation went on behind her, Verity was forced to try to dodge an attack from the Lilith who had managed to guard against her earlier. She just about managed to stumble out of the way when the Lilith cast 'Bufudyne', catching sight of the swirl of ice forming under her feet seconds before it shot upwards and had been close to completely surrounding her. Naturally, this was to be expected, as Verity had never battled with a Persona before. Her reflexes would be clumsy, meaning she'd have to rely solely on her Persona for now and try to knock the Shadows down as quickly as possible.

"I didn't. But given the situation, Caroline, this is a lot for us to process, don't you think?"

Caroline rolled her eye at Justine's response and placed her hands to her hips.

"I know that! But don't you think it's strange? She was clearly speaking against the Phantom Thieves!"

"…"

Justine furrowed her brow and turned her gaze towards the fight once more, witnessing the Nebiros who'd guarded leaning forward and casting 'Brain Shake' and sending swirls of pink in Verity's direction. However, Verity just about managed to counter with 'Magaru' for a second time, causing the two moves to clash and explode in a flurry of pink and green. In the process, though, the attack managed to push the Liliths and the Nebiros back again, with Melchizedeks once again receiving heavy damage and disappearing in motes of darkness.

"That is strange. It goes against the world the inmate sought for."

"Exactly!" Caroline replied in agreement, following Justine's gaze as Verity used the momentary setback to cast another spell with the raise of her arm, prompting Ira to swing her sword behind her again in sync.

"Ira, _Makouga_!"

Swinging her sword forward, Ira sent a slash of swirling light down upon all four Shadows, successfully hitting them and causing the Nebiros to fade away in motes of darkness due to their weak resistance against bless attacks.

"A human who has awoken a Persona in a distorted world whose values she's heavily against… Doesn't that sound like a human immune to Yaldabaoth's influence, Justine?"

Justine blinked at Caroline in shock at this realisation, oblivious to Verity making a daring attempt to dash towards the Liliths whilst they were trying to pull themselves together.

"Immune to the influence of the false god? Is that even possible?"

"Apparently so-"

Caroline cut herself off with a gape when both Liliths made to retaliate before Verity had a chance to get close enough to bring her blade forward, resulting in them both casting 'Mabufudyne' just in front of the blonde so the ice rose up in a large swirl to trip her up. Justine followed Caroline's gaze with a gasp as Verity cried out and was sent flying backwards through the air, only to crash to the ground on her back close to where the twins were stood. She wasn't weak to ice attacks, thankfully, but still suffered quite a bit of damage from the combination. Ira remained hovering above her on the defensive, blade brought close to her chest once more.

With Verity slowly rolling over onto her front and grunting as she tried to pull herself together, Caroline and Justine focused their gazes towards the Liliths floating a small distance away from them, preparing to charge towards Verity head-on whilst she was technically down. Caroline gritted her teeth at this.

"… Justine, I take back what I said before." Justine frowned Caroline's way when she spoke, with the latter's eyes locked onto the Liliths as they started to rush their way forward. "Our master was right to continue to keep his trust in humanity. He knows not all humans think and act the same way."

Justine's expression relaxed once Caroline had elaborated on her reasoning, being quick to follow her alongside her as she started her run forward towards the charging Liliths.

"I'm glad you finally agree, Caroline."

"We shouldn't have let the inmate get into our heads! He made us forget the importance of our roles in the Velvet Room!"

Verity glanced between the twin wardens in surprise when they came to a sudden stop just in front of her, with Justine to her right and Caroline to her left. As the Liliths gained speed and raised their hands in preparation for their next spell casting, the twins spread their legs apart and got into a fighting stance.

"Since this human embodies our master's hope in humanity…" Caroline began, positioning her right arm across her front whilst her left one was raised behind her head.

"…then it's our duty to guide her through the obstacles she shall most likely face," Justine finished, holding out her left arm towards the charging Liliths whilst her right one held her clipboard behind her head.

Verity watched on in silent awe as Caroline grinned at the blue flames that briefly flashed around her and Justine, engulfing them for a few seconds before quickly dispersing.

"No more holding back!"

"It's time we atone for our mistakes!"

A Jack Frost and Jack-O-Lantern were revealed to now be hovering behind Justine and Caroline respectively as the Liliths cast 'Bufudyne' towards them both, prompting the twins to yell out in sync as their Personas prepared to counter.

"Persona!"

Due to being resistant to ice attacks, all Jack Frost had to do was fly in front of Justine and allow the one 'Bufudyne' spell to hit it, immediately causing the spell to dissipate into thin air as if it never happened and allowing Jack Frost to escape without any inflicted damage. Jack-O-Lantern, on the other hand, retaliated with the spell 'Maragidyne', causing large swirls of fire to appear in front of the trio and block the second 'Bufudyne' spell. This also happened right in front of the Liliths as they'd closed in on them, resulting in massive damage being inflicted onto them due to their lack of resistance to fire.

The Liliths emitted a loud cry and got knocked back just as the cast spell dispersed into thin air, leaving Justine watching with her usual stoic expression and Caroline's grin widening at the sight of the remaining two Shadows suffering enough damage to disappear in motes of darkness.

Caroline and Justine were soon relaxing their stances and turning to glance at one another as Jack-O-Lantern, Jack Frost, and Ira all disappeared back into their respective users within a flash of blue flames, with Verity slowly pushing herself off the ground to try to stand despite how much her limbs were shaking. As she did so, her sword was engulfed in a bright green light, which soon dispersed once it had shape-shifted back into its leaf charm and returned to the bracelet around her wrist.

" _Aha_! Justine, did you see that?! We regained our Personas!"

Justine nodded in response, the pair remaining oblivious to Verity hunching over as she tried to straighten out her posture with her arms dangling limply at her front.

"Indeed we did."

Caroline placed her hands to her hips and straightened out her back in a proud manner.

"I'd like to see the inmate take us on _now_! And with a new Persona user by our side, no less!"

Justine shook her head in dismay.

"You're forgetting, Caroline, that she has only just awoken to her Persona. We can't go making assumptions. For now, we need to focus on getting out of here."

Caroline's shoulders slumped as she frowned Justine's way, letting out a huff of annoyance.

"Right, right. Hey-"

Caroline and Justine blinked in surprise at hearing something fall to the floor behind them, prompting them to glance behind them out of instinct. They were met with the sight of Verity collapsed on the floor face-down, her arms and legs sprawled out. Verity had passed out from exhaustion, seemingly.

Upon realising this, the twins' eyes drooped in sync out of dismay, with Justine sighing and reaching a hand up to grab the front of her cap and adjust it on her head.

"… Let's move her to that room before the Shadows return."

"Agreed."

* * *

When I opened my eyes, the first sight I was met with was a girl with bright green hair and eyes staring back at me from where she hovered a small distance away a little way off the ground. We were surrounded by darkness, and there didn't appear to be anyone else but us. Which, in this situation, unnerved me quite a bit.

As I took a step or two back out of caution and tried to process what I was seeing, the girl chuckled in amusement at my reaction, causing me to gape. Her laugh sounded close enough to mine, but held a darker and confident tone that caused a shiver to run down my spine.

" _Still cautious of me, are you? I'm not surprised_."

"… Who are you?" The words left my mouth before I could stop them. "Were you the one who spoke to me in my head?"

The girl nodded.

" _I am_." She held out her hands on either side of her. " _I am the side of you you've been suppressing for all these years, who has now gained a physical form_."

I frowned in confusion, not quite understanding what she meant.

"You're… _me_?"

" _Yes_."

"…"

My frown deepened.

'… _Is this like that Japanese saying about a person having three faces? Is she supposed to be the third face; the one I never show to anybody?'_

" _If that analogy helps you to understand what I'm talking about, then yes. Something like that_."

I flinched in surprise and leaned back a bit when the girl spoke again, prompting the girl to giggle again out of amusement at my reaction.

" _You and I are one in the same. You shouldn't be so surprised that I can hear your thoughts._ "

"And yet here we are…" I muttered sarcastically, not exactly sure of how to respond to this situation despite my fear.

This prompted another giggle from the girl, but one that this time caused a smile to stay on her face.

" _You have done well in choosing to open your eyes to the truth. But you still have a long road ahead of you before you can know it for yourself._ "

I frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

The girl tilted her head to the side slightly, her smile widening as a bright green glow started to engulf her.

" _You'll see soon enough_ ~…"

As the girl started to slowly fade away within the glow, I was quick to reach my right hand out and try to move forward as fast as I could, only being able to call out one word before my vision immediately went black.

"Wait-!"

* * *

The next time I found myself managing to open my eyes I was staring up at a black ceiling above me, the first noise that escaped my mouth being a loud groan. I had no memory of what had happened between now and when I pulled whatever it was off my face. But that didn't stop me from feeling like my limbs had been stepped on by an elephant.

"Look who's finally awake, Justine."

I turned my head in the direction of the voice from where I was lying, only to see Caroline and Justine sitting close by on the floor with their legs crossed. Justine was holding her clipboard to her chest with a neutral look on her face, whilst Caroline had her arms crossed and was smirking at me.

"And to think, I thought you didn't look or sound like a Persona user!"

"…?"

Frowning in confusion at Caroline's remarks, I slowly lifted myself from the floor and sat up, reaching a hand to place to my forehead as the pain began to ease itself.

"…?!"

However, my eyes widened when I felt my palm touch something on the front of my face, prompting me to pat it a couple of times at realising it was around my eyes.

"What the-? What's on my face-?"

"A mask," Justine replied, continuing even as I started feeling around the sides of it with both hands. "You pulled it off your face when you awoke to your Persona."

I paused with my movement and turned to stare at the twin wardens with a surprised blink.

"… 'Mask'? 'Awoke to your Persona'-?"

Catching sight of my clothes out of the corner of my eyes, I was left gaping when I dared to glance down and see my outfit was different.

"-Wait-?! Why are my clothes different?! What happened-?!" I turned my gaze away to stare at the room we were in at realising even our surroundings were now different as well. It had been difficult to tell before, since it followed the same colour scheme as everywhere else I'd seen of this place. "Where are we-?!"

"If you stop asking questions, then we'll tell you!" Caroline responded in an annoyed tone, prompting me to fall quiet and glance towards them in anticipation.

What proceeded next was a lengthy explanation courtesy of the pair regarding what happened during my 'black-out', which included what I did, why my outfit had changed, why I was wearing a mask, and the differences between Shadows and Personas. By the end of the explanation I had my hands covering my nose, briefly closing my eyes and releasing a deep breath as I tried to process what I'd just heard.

' _ **Wow**_ _… And here was me thinking things couldn't get any weirder…'_

"… _Let me get this straight_ ," I paused to move my hands away from my mouth, holding them up on either side of me to prepare to mimic quotation marks on the words I was planning to emphasise. "The voice I heard in my head was my ' _Persona_ '. And this ' _Persona_ ' is the physical representation of a part of my personality and thoughts."

Justine nodded. "That's right."

"So, when I was hearing this voice, feeling all that pain, and then pulling _this mask_ …" I pointed towards the mask with my hands. "… _off my face_ … that was me awakening to my ' _Persona_ '."

"Basically," Caroline answered.

"And awakening to my ' _Persona_ ' is the reason why I don't remember fighting those Shadows, why I feel so exhausted and why I'm wearing this mask and outfit. The latter of which is also there to protect me from the distortions of humanity's evil thoughts in this world; something these ' _Shadows_ ' are apparently made up of."

When both Caroline and Justine nodded to confirm my recollection was correct, I allowed my shoulders to slump in dismay when I dropped my hands into my lap out of disbelief. Even with the explanation, I still couldn't believe what the heck I'd just heard.

' _But it sounds like what that girl said was right, then. The one who I spoke to a moment ago… She must have been my Persona.'_

"… I don't even know if I'm still alive anymore. Did I die and enter some weird version of purgatory?"

Caroline snorted at my reaction out of amusement.

"You can try to deny it all you want. But you've seen and experienced it now. There's no going back from this."

My eyes drooped at her remark, prompting me to turn my gaze away to stare at the leaf charm on my bracelet.

'… _So, my charm turned into a weapon, huh? I wonder…'_

"… You said my Persona had a name you didn't recognise. 'Ira', wasn't it?"

I glanced towards the twins out of the corners of my eyes to see their reactions, watching as they blinked in confusion at my question. After a moment I turned my gaze away again and closed my eyes, letting out a forced chuckle.

"Heh. I wondered why I felt weird. Ira; the Latin word for 'Wrath'. How ironically fitting for someone like me."

When I opened my eyes and dared to side-glance the twins again, I thought I saw Justine staring at me with her wide eye. Not from shock, but rather as if she'd just realised something based on what I'd just said…

However, Justine was also the first to break away from this by loudly clearing her throat, choosing to stand and keeping her clipboard pressed to her chest.

"Well then, you've had ample time to recover from your exhaustion. We should leave Mementos whilst we have the chance."

Caroline nodded in agreement and copied Justine, with me doing the same once I was sure the pain in my limbs had subsided.

"Good idea. We might be safe from the Shadows in here, but we still have the inmate to worry about." She paused to turn her gaze to me. "Do you remember what you're supposed to do?"

I was quick to nod and feel around the front of my black coat for a pocket, eventually finding one and slipping my hand in for my phone.

"Yep. I just activate that app to send us back, right? … Well, that's if my phone is- There it is!"

The moment I felt my fingers touch what I thought was my phone, I brought it out and prepared to unlock it. However, I halted in my tracks when my eyes locked with my reflection in the phone screen, causing me to take sight of the mask that had been on my face this whole time. It was coloured bright red and only covered the area around my eyes, with both sides of the mask taking on the shape of a leaf.

' _Yeesh. What is it with the 'plant' theme? First the indent on the door, then my 'Persona' talking about 'saplings', and now my mask… What the heck is up with-?'_

"Ow!"

"Hey! Daydream on your own time!"

Reaching a hand down to my left side where I'd felt a finger jab me, I briefly turned to Caroline to find her standing close to me with a scowl.

" _Okay_ , _okay_! _Geez_!"

Rolling my eyes, I unlocked my phone and pressed my thumb on the 'Nav' app before Caroline poked me again. I was soon glancing away from my phone, though, when I started to notice red rings of varying sizes start to engulf the area around us in a ripple-like effect, with Caroline and Justine glancing around once the red embedded into the black parts of the wall slowly began to fade away.

' _What the-?'_

* * *

The next thing I knew, the ripples had disappeared, and I was standing near a row of steps leading down to one of Shibuya Station's platforms, prompting my eyes to widen in shock for a moment.

"Huh?"

I did a full 360-degree turn to look around at the oblivious crowds of people walking by as if nothing had just happened, only to flinch when a mechanical female voice sounded from my phone.

" _You have returned to the real world. Welcome back._ "

'… _The app talks? And the weird things just keep on rolling. But it looks like those two were telling the truth; I'm in Shibuya Station again.'_

As I happened to glance down at my phone I was soon gaping at sighting the dark green sleeve of my jacket, causing me to stare down at myself for a moment in shock. My usual clothes had returned and replaced the other outfit I had on, which was further proven when I raised a finger to pat the bridge of my nose and I couldn't feel the mask, either.

"My clothes changed again…"

"Of course they have!" I turned around at hearing Caroline, finding both her and Justine were still stood with me with their respective frowns and stoic looks. "We told you that outfit was to protect you from the distortions of the Metaverse. You don't need it when you return to the real world."

I opened my mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Justine when she raised her left hand away from her clipboard.

"And before you ask, the humans of this world _can_ perceive your entrance and exit to the Metaverse. They're just too occupied at the moment to acknowledge you. Do keep that in mind for future reference."

"Also, they can't see us like you can." Caroline added, shrugging her shoulders. "So if you don't want to look like a crazy person, be mindful of that too."

I closed my mouth and stared at the twins stood in front of me in confusion for a moment, glancing to the left and right before deciding to speak in a low voice.

"… How did you know that's what I was going to ask?"

Justine shrugged her shoulders.

"It's common sense. You aren't the first Persona user we've had to deal with, after all."

I frowned in thought at this.

'… _There are others like me?'_

I was brought back to reality when Justine spoke again.

"But questions aside, it would seem you have kept to our deal."

I blinked in realisation when I remembered why I'd been following them in the first place.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!" I placed a hand to the back of my neck and glanced between them, deciding to bite the bullet and ask out of curiosity. "… So, what were you two planning on doing now you're out of that cell?"

Justine and Caroline briefly glanced at each other before looking back to me, prompting Caroline to place a hand to her hip.

"We're not sure yet. We'll probably check out the door to the Velvet Room, since you've unlocked it for us." She paused to close her eye. "But if you're asking to see if there's anything else we need from you… then there's no need. We're done here."

Justine nodded in agreement.

"Your assistance is no longer required. It has been appreciated, however."

"… Oh," I said, not realising until afterwards just how disappointed I sounded.

' _Why am I disappointed? Isn't this a good thing? I know what's behind that weird door now and why this app is on my phone. That's all I wanted… right?'_

Being quick to shake my head and drop my hand away, I gave the twins the best grateful smile I could muster.

"Well then. I guess I should be offering you my thanks as well, for helping me get out of there and all. _So_ …"

I trailed off as an awkward silence fell around the three of us for a moment, neither of us saying anything else as we stared each other down and waited for the cue where we could end things. Fortunately, that moment came rather quickly when I felt my phone vibrate in my hand, quickly followed by its ringing just as I glanced at the screen.

Mom was calling me.

' _Uh-oh…'_

"I've gotta take this. Sorry. I'll see you around then… I suppose?"

"Whatever you say, intruder."

I frowned to display my displeasure at the nickname Caroline had insisted on continuing to give me as the twins finally turned and started running away into the station. Probably in the direction of that alleyway to go through that door.

'… _I knew they'd never call me by my name.'_

Shaking my head in dismay, I was quick to answer the phone and put it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"... _Verity_! _Where have you been_?! I've been trying to ring you all morning!"

I cringed and moved my ear away when I heard Mom's voice yelling at me through the phone, noting how relieved and angry she sounded.

' _Yikes! I made a big mistake in not at least texting her to tell her I'd be out for a while…'_

"… _Sorry_ ," I started once I'd put the phone back to my ear, closing an eye as I wracked my brain for an excuse I could use to get myself out of this one. Because obviously I couldn't tell her I'd pulled an 'Alice-In-Wonderland' kind of stunt and walked through a strange door into another world. There's no way she'd believe me.

"An apology isn't good enough, young lady! You scared me half to death!"

"It wasn't intentional! I swear!" I glanced around the area I was standing in in search for something to give me an idea for an excuse, only for my gaze to lock with a magazine stand on the other side of the station. One of the magazines on display had a picture of Jinbocho on the front page. "I… I left early so I could go to Jinbocho."

A few seconds of silence went by on the other end of the line before Mom spoke up again with slight surprise seeping into her voice.

" _Jinbocho_? What did you go all the way over there for?"

I hesitated for a moment, reaching my empty hand to grab at one of my braids and rub it between my finger and thumb out of nerves.

"I… I wanted to see if they had any books I might like to read. You know I'm a bookworm! But the signal kept cutting out on my phone when I was on the train, so I wasn't able to text you. _I'm really sorry_."

Silence fell on the other side of the line again, but unlike before it lasted a while, causing me to bite the inside of my lip.

'… _She's not buying it, is she?'_

"… Did you find anything?"

I blinked in surprise when I got an answer, prompting me to straighten out my posture.

"N-No, no! There wasn't anything there that caught my eye. So I'm coming home now. I'm just at Shibuya Station."

Mom sighed loudly on the other side of the phone.

"Well, as long as you're okay. That's all that matters to me. But _promise me_ you won't do that again. At least tell me you're going out next time so I don't go yanking my hair out with worry. I'm not getting any younger!"

I smiled out of amusement.

' _She took the bait. She's back to making her usual jokes.'_

"I promise. Sorry. I'll be home soon."

"Alright. I'll see you when you get back. Love you."

"Love you! Bye!"

The second I brought my phone away from my ear and cut the call off, I let out a huge sigh of relief and allowed my shoulders to slump.

' _That was a close one.'_

Slipping my phone back into my jacket pocket, I found my gaze once again crossing with my charm and bracelet around my left wrist, prompting me to recall the explanation Justine and Caroline had given me about my supposed 'Persona'. It was only just now that I started to realise just how exhausted I felt after the whole ordeal.

' _Still… that was a lot for me to take in.'_

Reaching a hand up to rub at my forehead, I started my walk in the direction of the train platform that would take me back to Yongen-Yaya.

' _I think I'm going to take a long nap when I get home. I don't remember what I did, but it sure took a lot out of me…'_

* * *

"Hurry up, Justine!"

Justine picked up the speed in her running as she tried to keep up with Caroline dashing ahead of her through Shibuya's Central Street, keeping her clipboard tucked securely under her arm as she went. They didn't need to worry so much about dodging the crowds of people as they made their way through the street. They couldn't see them anyway.

"W-Why are you h-hurrying, C-Caroline?!" Justine tried to yell through her huffs for breath as she attempted to keep up with the malicious warden.

"The sooner we regain control of the Velvet Room, the better, Justine! So keep up!"

When Caroline darted round the corner into the alleyway, Justine was quick to slow down and follow suit with the shake of her head.

' _Honestly, Caroline… Why must you be so-?'_

Justine let out a surprised grunt as she felt her front collide with Caroline's back, causing her to stumble backwards a little bit and blink a couple of times to regain her senses. Her grip momentarily loosened on her clipboard as she managed to steady her footing and stared at Caroline with a confused blink upon seeing her staring ahead with her mouth agape. But when Justine followed the other warden's gaze, she found herself copying the same expression at the sight of the familiar frizzy-haired teen standing in front of the now closed door to the Velvet Room, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Hello, ladies," Ren greeted, presenting an unreadable expression on his face as he watched Caroline snap out of her shock first and run behind Justine for protection. "I see you've figured out how to escape the cell. Did your new little friend help you?"

Justine frowned and took a defensive stance when she felt Caroline place her hands on her shoulders, bringing her left arm across her front in case she had to use her clipboard as a temporary weapon. She and Caroline didn't think the inmate would try and attack them directly out in the real world (given they couldn't use their Personas here and no one else aside from Verity and Ren could currently see them), but that didn't mean they shouldn't exercise caution just in case. After all, he had managed to sneak up on them and catch them off guard the first time to put them in that cell to begin with.

Even so, they both did well in hiding their shock at the supposed mention of Verity, with Justine's grip around her clipboard tightening.

' _He knows about the intruder?'_ Justine's frown deepened. _'Then again, Yaldabaoth could have made him aware of her ahead of time. He did so before with the 'other Metaverse user'. Could this mean…?'_

When neither of the twins dared to make a retort, Ren smiled in amusement and straightened out his posture.

"There's no need to get all cautious. I'm not here to capture you."

"…?!"

Justine and Caroline blinked out of shock, prompting Justine to relax her stance a little.

"… _What_?" Caroline questioned, a scowl quickly forming. "Then why are you standing in front of the door to the Velvet Room?! You were clearly waiting for us to show up!"

"I was." Ren paused to smirk. "But only to see the looks on your faces when you saw the door."

Justine raised a brow out of confusion.

"The door…?"

"I bet he changed the lock again!" Caroline yelled without hesitation, raising a finger to point at Ren in an accusing manner. "That has to be it, right?! Why else would he look so smug?!"

" _Close_ , but not quite…"

Ren moved to the right to allow the twins a better view of the door to the Velvet Room, with the sight causing them both to stare at it in horror. The original lock mechanism was still there, as was the leaf shaped indent with its green glow. However, the other six former glowing white indents were now in full view, giving a clearer picture regarding the small shapes that went around the outer side of the circle; a chalice, a hand mirror, a gavel, a rose, a book, and a snake.

"What the…?" Caroline muttered out of shock, prompting Ren's smirk to widen.

"What? You didn't think those other indents were there for show, did you?" Ren tilted his head to the side. "You should have expected this. After all, I wasn't just going to leave the solution out in the open for you to find."

Justine narrowed her eye out of suspicion. She briefly recalled Verity's explanation regarding the leaf charm in her possession, as well as having watched her unlock the quarantine cell and their own cell with the same method.

' _Could it be…?'_

"... You have more than one key for the Velvet Room," she eventually answered, causing Caroline to gasp loudly behind her out of disbelief.

"He has _what_?!"

Ren shrugged his shoulders as if out of dismissal of both Justine's answers and Caroline's reaction.

"Of course I do. I had to prepare myself in the likely case you two managed to find your way out. And it looks like I was right."

Caroline balled her hands into fists and dropped them to her sides.

" _Why you_ -?!"

When Ren started walking towards them, Caroline and Justine straightened their postures out of caution, with the former gritting her teeth out of anger as she tried to suppress it for the time being.

' _Ugh!_ _ **Stupid inmate**_ _! How is he always one step ahead of us?!'_

Justine and Caroline stepped away from Ren and kept their gazes locked on him when he walked by them, only for him to stop just as he passed them to glance their way. He stayed still and silent for a moment, but when he pulled one of his hands out of his pockets Justine's and Caroline's shoulders tensed.

"I don't have time to spend trying to put you back in the Velvet Room, so consider yourselves _rehabilitated_."

"…!"

The twins watched with wide eyes as Ren purposely threw something that landed close to Justine's feet.

'… _! Caroline's baton-!'_

' _Is he… Is he really letting us go? Just like that?'_

"I welcome you both to try to unlock it if you want. But there's little you can do. In the real world, you're both powerless. And without your master… well, what can I say?"

"…."

The twins had no retort to give to that, knowing that in a way Ren was right with what he said. Even if they had regained their Personas and encountered another Persona user amongst this mess, it's not like they could do anything with it… right?

When they both failed to respond to him, Ren turned his gaze away and shook his head.

"You might as well roll over and accept you've failed already. Looks like I was the one prisoner you failed to rehabilitate."

Caroline growled whilst Justine remained silent and kept her eye narrowed. With neither of them choosing to respond verbally to Ren's taunts, the pair watched Ren walk away from them and the alleyway, remaining on their guard even after he turned the corner and disappeared from sight in the direction of Shibuya Station.

They continued to stay that way for a little while longer after Ren was gone, just to make sure he wasn't going to pull any other tricks on them. But it wasn't long before Caroline became the first one to break away, stomping towards the wall of the alleyway and throwing an angry punch at it with all the force she had.

"UGH!"

Justine watched on with a surprised blink as Caroline gritted her teeth and threw punch after punch at the wall in a flurry, doing no damage to it but somehow not reacting to the amount of pain her knuckles must have been in every time they made contact with the brick.

' _She's frustrated with him.'_

And Justine knew it was only natural for her to be at this point. The Trickster had hit home with his words, knowing how much the pair took pride in their roles and duties as attendants of the Velvet Room. It was a low blow, but one that was expected.

Letting out a quiet sigh and keeping her clipboard pressed against her side, Justine turned her gaze away from Caroline towards the door of the Velvet Room when she started throwing kicks at the wall into the mix. Before long, she was walking her way towards it.

' _I'll leave Caroline to release her anger. We cope with our emotions differently, after all.'_

The single-braided warden stopped before the door and stared at the lock mechanism and its six revealed indents. She couldn't put her finger on it when the Trickster had first showed them the renewed lock, but for some reason she had found the specified number of indents and their shapes rather peculiar. It had been the same when Verity had shown them the leaf shaped indent on the lock and her bracelet, the recollection causing her to furrow her brow in thought.

' _Seven indents. Why so specific? What is their significance?'_

As that thought popped into her head, the quiet girl found her lone eye being drawn towards the glowing leaf indent in the centre of the circle, only for it to widen when she suddenly recalled Verity's words from before.

'… _**You said my Persona had a name you didn't recognise. 'Ira', wasn't it?'**_

' _ **Heh. I wondered why I felt weird. Ira; the Latin word for 'Wrath'. How ironically fitting for someone like me.'**_

"…?!"

' _ **Wrath**_ _.'_ Justine's mouth fell open in shock, her body turning around to face Caroline still taking her anger out on the wall. _'Of course!_ _ **Seven indents**_ _,_ _ **seven sins**_ _!'_

" _Caroline_!"

Caroline paused mid-kick when Justine called her, her head turning in the other warden's direction with a confused blink, her anger at the Trickster momentarily forgotten upon sighting the look on Justine's face.

' _Why's she so excited all of a sudden?'_

"What? What's the matter?"

" _The keys to the door_ , Caroline! I know what they are!"

Caroline raised a brow out of scepticism.

"Well, _duh_! They're obviously similar to that charm that girl had!"

Justine was quick to shake her head and walk back over to Caroline as fast as she could.

"No, no! I mean what they _represent_!" Justine stopped beside Caroline and pointed her finger back towards the lock mechanism on the door. "It's the Seven Deadly Sins! The sins of humanity!"

"…?!"

Caroline gaped and stared at Justine as if she'd gone crazy, unable to process what she was hearing at all.

" _What_?!"

Justine showed no hesitation in grabbing Caroline by the wrist and pulling her forward towards the door, oblivious to the malicious warden's stumble as she tried to keep up and regain her footing by the time the pair stopped in front of it. Justine gestured a hand at the lock mechanism again after letting the malicious girl go, glancing at Caroline with a frown.

"Look. There are _seven_ indents. And do you remember what the Persona user said about the name of her Persona?"

Caroline's eye widened the moment she recalled it, realisation hitting her like a brick to the face.

"She said it translated to 'wrath'."

Justine nodded, returning her arm to her side and turning her body to face Caroline fully.

"I think it's safe to say that the inmate's lock mechanism is connected to that malevolent god. He must have granted him control over humanity's sins."

Caroline was the next one to frown in thought, a hand going under her chin as she turned her gaze to the lock mechanism.

"So, if the inmate is using humanity's sins in a condensed form… how does that Persona user and her Persona fit into all of this? She's supposedly had the key on her this whole time. And her Persona is named after a sin."

"…"

The twins' gazes slowly turned to meet each other, having the same thought occur to both of them at the same time. It was something the pair had been suspecting from the moment they had witnessed Verity's Persona take form right before their very eyes. Maybe even a little further back than that, when she walked into the Velvet Room.

"Justine... do you think… that Persona user could be our ticket to fixing this mess?"

Justine briefly closed her eye.

"It's not outside the realm of possibility. I did tell you I sensed something special about her. Perhaps this is what I felt."

Caroline turned her gaze towards her baton lying on the ground near the entrance to the alleyway, dropping her hand back to her side and balling both of them into fists. A frown of determination appeared as she started jogging forward towards it, prompting Justine to blink in confusion as she watched her go.

"Come on," Caroline said as she slowed down, briefly crouching to pick her baton from the ground and slip it back into the belt of her shorts.

During this time Justine obeyed and secured her clipboard under her arm as she jogged to Caroline's side, only to give her a frown of her own. She had an idea as to what Caroline meant, but decided to ask just to be sure they were on the same page.

"Where are we going?"

Caroline's frown deepened at Justine's question, prompting her to glance towards the quiet warden and place a hand to her hip, straightening out her posture in a proud stance as she did so.

"We're going to go find that Persona user before she leaves the station. If she's the key to saving humanity, we can't let her get away."

* * *

 **A/N: So, regarding what I said last chapter...**

 _ **Verity's Persona and outfit revisited:**_ **The real life thief I drew inspiration for regarding the appearance of both her Persona and aspects of her outfit was from the outlaw 'Black Bart'. Bart was well-known for wearing a bowler hat and duster coat (which Ira is dressed in) and he had a handkerchief with the laundry mark 'F.X.O.7' (which is on Verity's jabot). And, as one reviewer correctly guessed, 'Ira' is the Latin word for 'Wrath'. After reading this chapter, I hope my intentions on the subject of where this is going has become a little clearer now. But for those of you who aren't sure, Ira's magic types are 'Wind' and 'Bless'. Again, this is another hint towards the arcana she falls into, which won't be revealed until later on depending on where this goes.**

 _ **Justine's and Caroline's Personas:**_ **I purposely chose them to bring forth Jack-O-Lantern and Jack Frost during this specific fight as they were partly suited against the Shadows I'd decided to use. Although** **Justine's and Caroline's Personas change periodically throughout their secret boss fight, I'll consider having them stick with Jack-O-Lantern and Jack Frost permanently in the future to save confusion and time on my part. These are the ones people have commonly drawn them with in fanart and I think these two Personas suit their personalities well (aside from their types). XD**


	8. Chapter 8: Two Girls and a Sinner

**A/N: Apologies for the long delay. I've recently gotten into 'The Promised Neverland' and it caused my muse for my fanfictions to dwindle a little bit, especially because I've been going back and forth between the manga and the anime. But here I am with the long awaited update for this one. I was generally surprised that this fanfiction was still getting a lot of attention even though I didn't update as quickly as I hoped I would, so thank you to everyone who favourited, followed, reviewed and read it. Your support is greatly appreciated. Depending on how things go, updates might be delayed. I'll have to see how my muse goes. I'll admit, though, I enjoyed writing the beginning part of this chapter, because it got me wondering how Justine and Caroline would cope on human transport. XD As far as I'm aware, I don't think the beings of the Velvet Room are familiar with them, so... yeah.**

 **To PowerRangersOfLight: Admittedly, I've always been fascinated with the concept of the Seven Deadly Sins. Although they're generally viewed as a bad thing by society, we can't avoid the fact that the emotions we feel in connection to them are common and unavoidable. On a minor scale, I'd say sins aren't necessarily bad, but I suppose it depends on the person and how they're influenced by them. Also, since Yaldabaoth technically meddled with the world under the pact made between him and Ren, it got me wondering if his power would somehow influence it unintentionally as a result. Which leads us to this fanfic... XD But thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it. ^^'**

* * *

Chapter 8: Two Girls and a Sinner

By the time Justine and Caroline had made their run away from the alleyway and returned to the station, they'd managed to catch sight of Verity heading down a set of stairs towards the platform that would return her to Yongen-Yaya. Unbeknownst to them, Verity had hung on from heading straight to the platform after checking the times and noticing she still had a little bit of a wait yet, prompting her to use the opportunity to take a little break before she tried to haul herself home. Essentially the pair of them had gotten lucky, considering they'd never entered or been aware of how train stations in the real world worked aside from what they'd seen in Mementos. But that gave them all the more reason to hurry and catch her.

"There she is! Let's go!" Caroline yelled, prompting her and Justine to continue running forward through the crowds of people who passed them by and continually got in their way.

For all their speed, the twins found themselves having to dart in between gaps left in the swarms of people as they made their way towards the stairs, putting their battle techniques into good use through occasional dodging and ducking when it was necessary. Caroline was the first to free herself of the crowd after darting in between two businessmen walking behind each other, gritting her teeth and running down the stairs seconds before Justine managed to join her from behind after ducking under one woman's arm.

' _Come on! We can't lose her now!'_

' _ **I welcome you both to try to unlock it if you want. But there's little you can do. In the real world, you're both powerless.'**_

Caroline shook her head and growled at the Trickster's words from earlier returning to her memory, prompting her to pick up the pace in her running as she and Justine neared the bottom of the stairs.

' _We'll show that inmate who's powerless!'_

As Justine and Caroline came to a dead stop at the bottom of the stairs, their immediate reaction was to scour the backs of the crowds of people who were standing at the front of the platform, with the pair literally arriving as the train had pulled up and was slowing down to a complete halt. Caroline focused on the left side whilst Justine focused on the right, their lone eyes attempting to locate the blonde hair and green jacket they'd seen Verity initially wearing as quickly as possible.

' _Come on! Where is she?! We can't lose her now! Not after coming so far!'_

However, it was only when the doors to the train opened and the crowds started pushing forward inside the carriages that Justine found herself gaping, her gaze locking with Verity standing at the back of one of the crowds in front of the closest door to them.

"Caroline! There!"

Caroline followed Justine's gaze and finger when she raised her free hand to point Verity out, sighting her when the crowd were all almost inside of the carriage. Reacting on impulse, Caroline grabbed Justine's wrist and pulled her forward, making a dash for the train and causing Justine to gasp in surprise when she was caught off guard. The pair had been hoping to avoid this, but there was obviously no time for hesitating now. They were getting on the train and following her away from Shibuya.

Just as the last person had entered the carriage and the doors started closing, Caroline and Justine managed to cross the threshold and avoided getting stuck in the doors by mere seconds. The pair stumbled a little due to lack of balance, but regained their footing once the doors had closed completely, leaving them to take a moment to catch their breath through huffs. The pair briefly took note of how cramped the train carriage appeared, due to a quick glance at the hordes of people currently surrounding them and standing quite close together. It made it all the more difficult for them to try to find Verity through the masses, especially because their current stature _certainly_ didn't help when it came to the amount of adults around them…

"That's- That's the fastest I've ever seen you r-run, C-Caroline. I-I could barely keep up."

"W-Well-" Caroline was briefly interrupted by a cough. "-I didn't have much of a choice…! If we let her slip through our fingers now, humanity will never be saved!"

Justine briefly raised her head to scour the people currently standing in front of them, her brow furrowing in thought.

"We have her cornered on this train. All that's left is for us to find her in the carriage before-"

Justine was cut off by the slow movement of the train starting to go forward, causing them to stumble around again as it began to pick up speed. Caroline's initial instinct was to reach out and grab the back of Justine's shirt to steady herself, with the latter instead opting to spread her legs apart and place her free hand to the closest wall of the train for balance, her other arm keeping her clipboard secured under her arm. Their reactions were only natural, since they had never actually been on a moving train. At most, they'd only ever seen them in Mementos.

"Why does everything have to get harder when we start making progress?!" Caroline yelled in anger, still holding onto the back of Justine's clothes even though the two had succeeded in regaining balance.

She knew she was fine to do so. These humans couldn't hear or see them. And even if they could, there was too much noise coming from the moving carriage and the chatter amongst small groups for her voice to be overheard.

"This isn't the time to vent your frustrations, Caroline," Justine responded calmly, briefly glancing back at the malicious girl before returning her gaze ahead. "We're just going to have to make do for now. The human needs to be found before she gets off the train. And we don't know how long that is."

Caroline huffed and allowed her shoulders to slump.

" _Fine_. You lead the way then, Justine."

Giving a brief nod towards Caroline, Justine eventually started her slow walk through the carriage and crowds of people, taking it one step at a time and keeping her hand flat against the wall as she did so. Caroline followed behind her, still gripping tightly onto her clothes as the pair moved their gazes around the crowded carriage.

In their brief moment of silence, Justine found her thoughts once again flitting back to her earlier conversation in front of the door to the Velvet Room, recalling Caroline's comments on Verity's possession of the key and the fact her Persona was named after a sin. It made Justine wonder…

' _How did she know the name's translation was connected to a sin?'_

From the moment the pair had encountered Verity for the first time, Justine had struck her as rather peculiar. The personality she awoke with her Persona completely contrasted the one she had originally displayed upon first meeting them; as was expected with every Persona user. But the way she'd spoken and stood up to those shadows, along with the anger and determination lighting her eyes…

' _She was just like the Inmate when he stood against us on the day we nearly executed him. She shares his courage and determination.'_

Justine's brow furrowed as she finally brought herself to a stop somewhere in the middle of the carriage, her gaze wandering towards a crowd of people situated close to one of the doors to their left.

' _I wonder… Is that why our master chose her? Or is there another force at work?'_

Multiple tugs on the back of her shirt brought Justine out of her train of thought, prompting her to glance back at Caroline as she pointed a finger towards the crowd in front of the doors.

"Justine! I see her!"

Justine blinked in surprise and followed where the girl was pointing, finding her gaze immediately locking with the familiar back of a dark green jacket and head of blonde hair. It was Verity, and she was stood close to where the crowd were gathered and looking down at her phone in her one hand. The other was holding onto a nearby pole used to support one of the sets of seats close by.

"Come on!"

Caroline spoke and moved before Justine had a chance to process what was going on, leaving her widening her eye and speaking up just as Caroline let her go and started heading in Verity's direction.

"Wait, Caroline-"

Justine was interrupted by the train carriage rocking a little just as Caroline had found a gap to slip through between two young girls close to where Verity was standing. The sudden movement took Caroline by surprise, and before she and Justine knew it the warden was crying out and stumbling forward at losing her balance. Justine was left cringing as she watched Caroline end up falling into Verity's back just as she put her phone in her pocket, causing the latter to stiffen in shock and glance behind her with a confused blink and quiet gasp.

Out of instinct, Caroline found herself wrapping her arms around the biologically older girl's waist for support before she fell to the floor, her lone eye closing tight as Verity's gaze locked with her small stature and forced her mouth closed to cut off her startled reaction.

"I think my life just flashed before my eyes…!"

Justine remained still and silent meanwhile, watching as Verity's eyes widened in alarm and she looked away to glance around the cramped carriage. Thankfully, it appeared that everyone else was too occupied to have noticed Verity's predicament. So, by the time Verity locked eyes with Justine on the other side of the carriage, she was quick to turn her head away and face forward again, leaving Caroline be and acting like nothing had happened.

Justine raised a brow out of surprise, noting how calm Verity had remained and how quickly she'd managed to collect herself despite the shock she must have had at seeing them.

' _Intriguing. She has paid close attention to our advice and warnings, after all.'_

It wasn't long before Justine took notice of Verity slowly raising her left hand close to her jacket pocket and moving her index finger back and forth, as if in a beckoning motion. It was obvious to Justine that Verity was trying to communicate with her in a discreet manner to avoid unwanted and unnecessary attention, prompting her to slowly move her hand away from the wall and make her way towards her down the same path Caroline had taken earlier.

With Caroline still gripping at her waist for dear life, Verity took her phone out of her pocket again and started to unlock it by the time Justine came to her side, leaving the latter to watch as she began to type something as fast as she could with her thumb. At first, Justine was left tilting her head in confusion at her actions, but that was quickly dispelled when Verity finished typing and moved her phone close to her so she could see the screen.

Justine ended up seeing the following message Verity had typed up in the notes section of the phone:

' _ **Hold on to my jacket until the train stops. When I get off at the next stop, we'll talk then.'**_

Justine turned her gaze away to stare at Verity, giving her a nod of understanding which allowed the blonde to lock her phone and return it to her pocket. As the quiet warden followed the instructions given and gripped at the side of Verity's jacket with her lone hand, she continued to stare at her even after she'd turned away to look elsewhere. She was surprised to find Verity was being so co-operative in this situation and choosing to hear them out. It caused her brow to furrow in thought.

' _This human… She has a kind heart.'_ Justine paused to close her eye. _'Perhaps she is more like the inmate than I originally thought.'_

* * *

 _ **16th April 20XX [Afternoon]**_

Caroline's and Justine's unexpected appearances on my train back to Yongen-Yaya had certainly startled, shocked, and confused me all in one go. But I remembered them warning me of the fact I was the only one who could see them, forcing me to react quickly to avoid any unnecessary trouble. After all, to quote Caroline, the last thing I wanted to do was make myself look like a 'crazy person'. So, I allowed Justine and Caroline to hold on to me during the rest of the train ride, refusing to make eye contact with them or speak out loud. But when the train finally pulled into Yongen-Yaya's station, I acted as normally as I could.

I walked out of the train and onto the platform the moment the doors opened, keeping my hands in the pockets of my jacket and pretending there currently weren't two little girls in uniforms walking with me. Caroline, during this time, had released her tight hold around my waist, but had decided to instead walk on my right side with a hand gripping at my sleeve. Justine had copied her, but was walking on my left side and holding onto my left sleeve as we moved through the crowds of people to get out of the station. Neither of the two had spoken since they'd joined me on the train, probably choosing to keep quiet to allow me to focus on acting normal without distractions.

I wasn't exactly sure why the twins were doing this now that we were off the train; however, I suspected it had something to do with their child-like statures and behaviour. They spoke like they were older and wiser than they looked, and yet displayed mannerisms that matched their appearances.

I dared to quickly glance between the twins as we continued our walk away from the crowds, recalling our last few conversations when encountering one another in that 'Velvet Room', as they'd called it.

' _The pair of them looked and sounded quite knowledgeable on those two other places we were in. But it looks like a different story for them and my world… Maybe they're like me in that they come from this 'Metaverse' place, but can cross over to here just as I can cross over to that world. They're probably strangers to the workings of Tokyo as much as I am to somewhere like the 'Depths of Mementos' or the 'Velvet Room'.'_

It did explain why the two of them were clinging to me like a pair of lost children. They probably had no idea where they were, and thought to seek me out because I was a familiar face and knew my way around a little better than they did. But that sudden thought had me frowning.

' _But wait… Didn't they say they were going to go back to that strange door because I'd unlocked it for them?'_

My internal question had me glancing around as we finally started to walk into Yongen-Yaya. There didn't appear to be a lot of people around now, making me wonder if I could briefly stop somewhere around here without heading straight home.

' _Mom and Yuuma will be there. They could overhear me at any time. It's too risky. So before we go any further with this, I need Justine and Caroline to at least give me a brief explanation on the situation somewhere quiet. I mean, there has to be a reason why they came back to look for me, right? Otherwise, they wouldn't have bothered.'_

I came to a stop beside the alleyway where the public bath and laundromat were located, my head turning towards the latter when I couldn't hear any washing machines that were turned on. It didn't sound like anyone was in there, which was perfect for my situation. I could see Justine and Caroline staring up at me from the corners of my eyes for a moment, which continued even when I started walking again into the alleyway.

' _The laundromat is secluded. And because there's only one way to get to it, it'll make watching out for people approaching easier. Whether it be from the street or the bathhouse.'_

Getting closer to the laundromat confirmed there was no one standing or sitting around inside, prompting me to finally speak up in what had felt like hours to finally address the twins once we'd stepped across the threshold.

"… You know you both didn't have to hold on to me the whole way here, right?"

"I beg to differ!" I glanced towards Caroline as she and Justine finally let me go and moved to stand in front of me, scowling and placing her hands to her hips. "Do you know how hard it was for us to find you?!"

I smiled in amusement. " _No_. But based on how you were hugging me for dear life earlier, I can probably imagine it…~"

I watched Caroline's eye briefly widen, only for her to turn her head away from me when her cheeks flushed a bright red out of embarrassment with a low growl.

" _Don't mock me_ , _intruder_!"

' _Still refusing to call me by my name, huh?'_

My smile dropped as I chose to ignore the remark, raising a brow in confusion as I focused my gaze on Justine. She was the more rational and calm of the two, so I figured I probably had more of a chance getting information out of her than her 'twin'.

"But why were you looking for me? You two said you were going to return to that door and that you didn't need my help anymore."

Justine's eye drooped at my response, her gaze locking with the floor as she raised a hand to pull the front of her cap over her face.

"We were gravely mistaken," she said in a quiet voice, her tone and actions betraying the shame it sounded like she was probably feeling right now. "It would seem we need further assistance and aid from you, as shameful as it is to say it."

I blinked in surprise at this.

"You need my help? Why?"

"Because the door to the Velvet Room apparently has _seven_ locks…" Caroline grumbled, folding her arms and turning her gaze to me with a scowl, prompting my eyes to widen for a moment.

" _Seven locks_? Are you talking about those other six indents on the door that we couldn't see?"

"Indeed she is," Justine responded, with Caroline growling in annoyance before continuing.

"The inmate got there before we did and activated the remaining six so we couldn't get back in. We came looking for you to get the six keys to unlock it, but we ended up chasing you instead!"

My reaction was delayed by a few seconds, but when Caroline's words finally processed I ended up leaning back a bit out of confusion.

"… Wait, what?"

Caroline's scowl deepened. "What part of that didn't you understand?!"

I blinked in confusion and placed a hand to the back of my neck.

"Ah… _Most of it_. But _specifically,_ the 'inmate' part-"

"Forget about the inmate!" I flinched and briefly closed an eye when Caroline raised her voice at me, my gaze briefly following her finger when she pointed it towards my bracelet on my visible hand. "You have the key to the first lock! That means you must have the rest!"

"…"

I stared at Justine and Caroline in silence, my lack of a response prompting Justine and Caroline to look at one another with a blink before Caroline spoke again, clearly impatient.

" _Well_? You have the rest, don't you?"

I could understand why Caroline and Justine had come to such a conclusion based on everything that had happened so far. But eventually I dashed their hopes and lifted the wrist with the bracelet on it for them to see clearly.

"… _I don't_." Watching Justine's and Caroline's eyes widen in shock at this, I continued for their sake. "I only own this one. And it was given to me as a gift. Even though I use the term 'gift' _very loosely_ … It was just a coincidence that this charm also happened to double as a 'key' to your door."

It was Justine's and Caroline's turn to fall silent as they both stared at me in disbelief, unable to say anything at first. But eventually Caroline took the initiative to speak again, her tone betraying her disbelief.

"So… _you don't_ have the other six keys?"

All I could do was hold my arms out and shrug, shaking my head to further prove my point.

"Um… _Sorry_?"

"…"

Silence fell in between us once more as Caroline and I continued to stare at one another, with me waiting to see if she was going to ask anything else or claim I was trying to trick her. However, she ended up being the one who broke eye contact first with the lowering of her head. I couldn't see her eye past her hat, but I could bet it showed her annoyance at the situation. Justine watched Caroline with a furrowed brow, clearly worried about what was probably going on in her head right now.

"A dead end, huh?" Caroline let out a bitter chuckle, slowly shaking her head in dismay as she grabbed the front of her cap with a hand and did what Justine had done earlier, pulling it down to hide her face. "Ha. Maybe the inmate was right. Maybe we really are powerless…"

I frowned in confusion at the statement, but Justine distracted me when she focused her gaze back in my direction.

"I have to disagree with you, Caroline."

Caroline raised her head and turned to Justine with a surprised blink.

"Huh?"

But Justine didn't respond to Caroline after that. Instead she took a few steps towards me, adjusting her clipboard slightly so that it was secured under her arm as she stopped in front of me.

"You said you 'only own this one', correct?" I nodded to confirm she was right. "So, you're implying that there are other charms like yours, and you're aware of them?"

"Yeah." I turned my gaze away to my bracelet as Justine frowned in thought. "They come from a jewellery set that follows the theme of the 'Seven Deadly Sins', from what I was able to find out on the internet. They're named after their Latin translations and are really expensive to get. They're only available in my native country, though. You can't get them anywhere else."

I watched Justine's eye widen in realisation when I turned my gaze back to her, prompting me to frown in confusion even when she spoke.

" _Ira_ … That's why you knew the translation."

"Excuse me?"

Justine didn't answer me. Instead she chose to turn to Caroline stood behind her, walking over towards her.

"Caroline, a word?"

Caroline frowned for a moment, but once Justine had moved past her towards the other end of the laundromat she was quick to follow her without question. I stayed silent and placed my hands to my hips as I watched the pair of them talk to each other in whispers, unable to hear them from where I was stood. I didn't want to eavesdrop on them (as curious as I was about the whole thing), and instead chose to stick to my thoughts and go over what they'd already told me.

' _So, if I've got their story straight from what they've told me… this 'inmate' has apparently locked them out of the Velvet Room, and they came looking for me because they thought I had the remaining keys needed to open it…'_ I turned my gaze down to my bracelet, my brow furrowing in thought. _'Hm… I was wondering why those other indents were hidden. That 'inmate' must have activated them as a security measure of some sort. He obviously doesn't want these two getting back in there…'_

I paused to focus my gaze on Justine and Caroline, who were still whispering away to each other and with their backs to me. I couldn't see how they were reacting outwardly, but Caroline's occasional arm waving clued me in on the idea that she wasn't very happy with what was being discussed…

' _I can understand why they came to me. But what do they expect me to do? There's clearly more to this than what they're telling me. And then there's this 'inmate' they keep talking about, and who seems to be the one messing with them. It's hard to believe going through that door would have dragged me into such a mess…'_

' _ **Oh? How can you be so sure of that?'**_

My eyes widened when I heard the familiar voice of my Persona speak inside my head, my hand reaching for my forehead out of instinct.

'… _Ira? You can talk to me even like this?'_

' _ **Of course. I am part of 'you', remember? I go wherever you go, even outside of the Metaverse.'**_

There was a brief pause before she continued, since I didn't feel the need to respond. I kinda got the gist at this point.

' _ **Didn't they tell you at the station that you weren't the first Persona user they've had to deal with? That sounds like your experiences today are more common than you might think.'**_

' _Wait… Are you trying to say that me awakening to a 'Persona' had something to do with this?'_

' _ **Not just that. Try thinking back over the things you've seen and the things they've told you in your previous conversations. You might gleam some information that will put you on the right path to understanding everything.'**_

I lowered my hand to my chin upon deciding to heed Ira's words, thinking back to earlier today when I'd entered the Velvet Room and first encountered them.

' _There was that clipboard I found that belonged to Justine. It had something called a 'Persona Compendium' on it, and a list of ten names I wasn't sure of.'_

I recalled the moment when Caroline and Justine had first spoken to me, the pair of them trying to interrogate me on my appearance into the room in the first place.

' **Hey** _ **! We're the ones who should be asking the questions here!'**_

' _ **I agree. This place exists for the purpose of our master. You're not supposed to be here.'**_

And that led me to remember the moment Caroline started panicking when I refused to tell them about the lock mechanism on the door in Shibuya…

' **Look** _ **. We don't have time for this! We need to know how to get out of here before he comes back!'**_

And then their conversation when we encountered the lock mechanism for a second time…

'… _**How peculiar. I don't ever recall our master using something like this.'**_

' _ **It has to be the work of that false god, right?'**_

' _ **It has to be. From the beginning of his rehabilitation, the inmate was provided his abilities through him. I do not doubt he has granted him further power to aid in his endeavours…'**_

From there, I found myself recalling a lot of the things they'd mentioned to me, such as the 'Depths of Mementos', the 'Metaverse Navigator', the 'Shadows', and so on. And even though I wasn't sure on what any of it meant, I knew they were all connected. And that was more than enough for my mouth to drop open when I came to a sudden realisation.

' _The inmate they're speaking of… Could he be a 'Persona user' as well?'_

I heard Ira chuckle in amusement.

' _ **You've finally caught on, have you? From what they've said, it sounds like he can travel between the Metaverse and this world, doesn't it? Just like you with that Metaverse Navigator.'**_ My eyes turned to my jacket pockets as she went on. _**'There's also the fact that the two of you appear to possess the same key… Don't you think that's a little suspicious, hm?'**_

I placed a hand to my chest.

' _I think I see where you're going with this. You're suggesting that they've come to me because I appear to be on par with this other Persona user, aren't you?'_

' _ **Indeed. You should probably take this opportunity to get answers out of them.'**_

' _I agree. I was hoping after parting ways at the station that this would be the end of it. But if they've come after me now, then that must mean this won't be the last time I get involved in their mess. I need to know what I'm getting myself into.'_

' _ **I'll leave the rest to you, in that case. You sound like you know what you're doing now~.'**_

" _Hey_!"

I flinched and turned towards Caroline and Justine when I heard the former yell in my direction, being pulled from my thoughts just in time to see the pair of them standing before me.

"We want to make another deal with you, intruder," Caroline said with a grumble, clearly not sounding happy at whatever was about to come next.

I folded my arms across my front and decided not to say anything, prompting Justine to take over from Caroline as she raised her clipboard a little.

"As we currently are, we cannot return to the Metaverse without access to the door of the Velvet Room. And since you appear to hold knowledge and abilities that are on par with the inmate-"

"You're requesting my aid in unlocking the door again, right?" I interrupted Justine before she had a chance to finish her sentence, causing her to blink in surprise and Caroline to scowl.

" _Pha_. _Someone's_ gained a sudden surge of confidence, haven't they?" I scowled at Caroline's words. "But yes. You're correct."

"And what do I get in return for helping you?"

Justine and Caroline both blinked at my response, exchanging glances out of confusion.

"Um..." Caroline said out of hesitation, her brow furrowing. " _What would_ she get in return?"

Justine shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure." She paused to turn her gaze to me. "Perhaps we should ask her, as presumptuous as it is."

" _Fine_ ," Caroline agreed, frowning at me in disapproval. "Intruder, what would you like in return for unlocking the door?"

I blinked in surprise at the fact they'd chosen to ask me the question anyway, but I immediately knew what to say as a response.

"… _Answers_."

Justine and Caroline both blinked in confusion, prompting me to place my hands to my hips and bend forward slightly to get closer to their level.

"I'm not a horrible person by nature. Despite how bizarre and confusing this whole mess is, it would be cruel of me to turn a blind eye when you clearly have no one else to turn to for help. So, I'll agree to help you find the missing keys and unlock the door _under one condition_ …"

When Justine and Caroline frowned out of caution at my words, I responded with a frown of my own to prove I was being serious.

" _Tell me everything you know about the situation I'm getting myself into_."

Justine's and Caroline's eyes briefly widened, but Caroline was the quicker of the pair to regain their composure and narrow her eye my way.

" _Excuse me_?"

"You heard me," was my response, prompting me to pause so I could straighten my posture. "I know you haven't been telling me everything, and I can guess that's because you didn't think you were going to need my help after you escaped those cells, right?"

Caroline said nothing, choosing to stay quiet and continue to stare at me with her narrowed eye alongside Justine, who eventually copied her twin's expression. Taking that as my cue to elaborate a little further, I moved my hands to the pockets of my jacket and smiled in amusement. I wasn't usually like this, but I suspected awakening to my Persona may have caused a newfound sense of confidence I didn't realise I had.

"What's with those looks? You're acting like I'm the bad guy here." I closed my eyes and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm just going off what I've heard you say between me and yourselves. And based on what I've heard, it sounds like this 'inmate' fella is like me. Which is bad… isn't it?"

I opened my eyes when Justine let out a quiet gasp and watched her cover her mouth with a gloved hand, prompting me to tilt my head to the side in confusion.

"I'm not stupid. I've heard bits of your private discussions here and there, one of which occurred right before we left that 'Velvet Room'. Didn't you mention something about the inmate receiving his powers from a 'false god'?"

Caroline pointed an accusing finger my way.

"It's rude to eavesdrop!"

"You two were the ones talking out loud. Don't blame me for this."

Caroline let out a low growl and turned her head away at that, with Justine placing a hand under her chin and giving me a quick glance up and down.

"How perceptive. I don't usually give praise, but your display of observation and common sense despite your lack of understanding and knowledge of the Metaverse is certainly impressive."

"What can I say? This is what happens when you're an outcast to society."

Justine raised a brow at my remark, but chose not to respond. Instead she turned to Caroline as she mumbled something inaudible under her breath. With a sigh and the shake of the head, I eventually chose to speak again when neither of the two girls took the lead themselves.

"Look. I'm not going to beat around the bush. It's obvious that neither me or this 'inmate' are supposed to have these abilities in the first place. And yet somehow they're tying me to this mess you're apparently in." I removed a hand from one of my pockets and placed it to my chest. "I'm all for helping you if you think I can, because I have a gut feeling this problem isn't going to go away on its own... But in return I should at least have an idea of what I'm getting myself into. _I do_ have a life of my own in this world, you know. I need to be mindful of the fact that helping you two isn't going to get me into serious trouble with anybody else."

"…"

Caroline frowned and turned her gaze to Justine beside her when she appeared to be unable to think of a retort, placing a hand to her hip.

"What do you think, Justine?"

Justine remained silent at first, choosing instead to observe me in silence whilst she contemplated the issue. Personally, I didn't think my end of the deal was a bad one. If I was supposed to be going into this, I should be told the backstory behind this whole mess, right?

"… It pains me to say this, but she's right." Caroline's eye widened at Justine's response, with the latter closing hers and lowering her head a little. "We know from experience what it's like to blindly follow orders and not confirm our doubts when we have them."

I saw Caroline's back stiffen at this as Justine raised her head and opened her eye to look my way, holding out her free hand towards me.

"This human has offered her aid to us without knowing the true extent of the situation. If we were to deprive her of the information she needs to know, would that not make us as bad as the false god who did the same?"

Caroline's reaction was delayed, but after a few seconds the girl groaned loudly and closed her eye, balling her hands into fists at her sides.

" _I hate when you're right_ …"

Justine showed no reaction as she returned her hand to her side, instead choosing to watch Caroline as she turned to face me with an annoyed scowl.

" _Alright_. We'll tell you everything. But when we do, you'd better not stab us in the back. _No tricks_."

I smiled in triumph, raising a finger of my own to trace a 'x' shape in the middle of my chest.

" _I promise_."

I briefly turned my gaze away and fell quiet when I heard footsteps approaching the alleyway, prompting me to move to the washing machines lined against the back wall to make it look like I was using the facilities whilst continuing to watch outside. Caroline and Justine stood quietly and watched along with me as an elderly man passed by on his way to the bathhouse, and at a rather slow pace to boot.

' _I almost forgot we were technically talking in a public place. Depending on how long their explanation is going to take, talking out here for much longer won't do me any good. Especially since Mom and Yuuma are expecting me to return home any time now…'_

Neither of us said a word until I was sure the man had gone inside the building, eventually allowing me to move back to where I had been previously stood.

"… Now's probably not a good time for us to be talking out in the open any more than we already have," I said, getting Justine's and Caroline's attention again. " _Therefore_ , allow me to make another proposal."

The two girls frowned at me, but didn't say anything as I continued.

"You said you couldn't return to the Metaverse whilst that door was locked, didn't you?"

"We did," Justine answered with a nod.

" _So_ … since the two of you don't have anywhere to go in the meantime, I'm more than happy to let you both stick with me. Just until we get a chance to actually sit down and discuss this properly without anybody overhearing. I will warn you, though, that it might not be for a while. Since I have school and other stuff to worry about."

The pair blinked in shock simultaneously at my offer, with Caroline being the first to recover and roll her eye at me.

" _How generous of you, intruder_."

My eyes drooped in dismay at her sarcasm.

" _Really_? _You're still_ _not_ going to use my name?"

Caroline smirked at me and reached a hand for something attached to the belt of her shorts, standing up a little straighter in a proud manner.

"We don't need to. You're not our 'prisoner', and we're not your 'wardens', but that doesn't mean we're on equal standing!"

I leaned back in surprise when Caroline brought her hand forward and pointed… _a shock baton_ at me?

"This is just a temporary alliance and nothing more! So, get used to it!"

I wanted to question where she'd gotten a shock baton from, but quickly decided it wasn't a good idea. Although, given their supposed roles as 'wardens' as she'd put it (even if I didn't completely understand what she'd meant by that remark to begin with), I concluded it probably had something to do with that…

"Then could you at least call me something else?!"

"I must agree with her, Caroline," Justine finally said, turning to face the other girl with a calm blink. "Given we are no longer in the Velvet Room or the Metaverse, referring to her as 'intruder' sounds demeaning."

Caroline faced Justine with a raised brow.

"We still call the inmate 'inmate' and he's no longer a prisoner! How's this any different?"

Justine frowned in thought and turned to look at me once more, a finger raising to her chin.

"We never initially considered the inmate an 'ally' of ours during his rehabilitation. But this time is different. Although we don't consider her our equal, she isn't our prisoner, like you said. It's only fair we give her a title befitting of her role."

" _Or_ you could just use my _actual name_ …?" I replied, holding out my hands on either side of me in disbelief that this conversation was actually happening. "That's also an option!"

"You mean like something similar to 'Trickster' also being used for the inmate?" My shoulders slumped when Caroline asked the question and completely blanked me from the conversation, leaving me to watch Justine nod.

"Precisely."

Caroline suddenly had a wide grin appear on her face, followed by the clicking of her fingers as if she'd just realised something.

"I've got it!" She turned to face me with her free hand going to her waist. "You'll be the 'Sinner'!"

"…?!"

My mouth dropped open out of surprise for a few seconds, giving Justine time to smile in agreement with Caroline and respond before I could interject.

"Ah. Yes. That's very fitting."

"Wait, what?!" I finally found my words and cried out in objection. "Why 'sinner'?! That sounds even worse than 'intruder'!"

Caroline smirked in triumph and bent forward a little at the waist.

"Well, your Persona is named after a sin, _and_ you have the key of 'wrath' on you!"

"It also loosely ties in with the fact you entered the Velvet Room without our master's permission, which _technically_ counts as sinful behaviour in our eyes," Justine added.

"And didn't you say something about it being 'ironically fitting' for someone like you back in Mementos~?"

I frowned in disapproval at Caroline's remark.

"I was talking about _the sin itself_ , not sins in general!"

I heard a whipping sound as Caroline stood up straight and moved her baton to point at me again, causing me to flinch and her smirk to remain on her face.

"Well, _too bad_! That's what we're calling you now!" Her smirk widened out of amusement at her next words. "Suck it up, _sinner_!"

I allowed my shoulders to slump in dismay as I glanced between a smirking Caroline and a smiling Justine, purposely choosing not to argue with them anymore. I knew it was pointless. These two obviously weren't going to change their minds anytime soon.

"… _Whatever_ ," I finally said with a huff, shaking my head and returning my hands to my pockets as I faced the entrance to the laundromat. "I don't have time to stand around and argue with you. Let's just get out of here before someone sees me."

I started to walk out into the alleyway once Caroline had returned her baton to her belt and the pair had taken their former positions on my right and left sides. They didn't grip at my sleeves this time, instead choosing to walk close to my sides as we exited the alleyway and headed in the direction of the residential area of Yongen-Yaya. However, compared to earlier, I could tell their demeanours had changed. Justine's stoic expression was there but her stance appeared straighter and prouder. And whereas Caroline had looked wary since leaving the station, she now wore a triumphant smile to replace it.

It was a strange sight to behold, but I couldn't help the brief smile that showed on my face as a result. I suppose part of me was happy to see the two of them in better spirits than before, and yet…

'… ' _ **Sinner**_ _', huh?'_ I let out a quiet sigh as the three of us continued our way, keeping my gaze focused ahead to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. _'That'll take some getting used to…'_


	9. Chapter 9: Twists and Turns

**A/N: ... _Hey there._ _Long time no see_ , I guess? **

**Yes, I know it's been nearly a year since I last updated this fanfic, and I'm sorry for that. But in my defence, my muse hasn't been the best for this fanfic lately, on top of my real life responsibilities and such. If anything, I couldn't understand why I seemed to have more muse for my other fanfics and not this one. That is until I actually came across something about getting 'self-accomplishment' from _discussing_ what you're gonna do about a project instead of showing people the completed result, and that being the reason why most people find it so hard to actually complete things. And it kinda hit me that in comparison to my other fanfics... I have done a lot of that in this one in the author's notes by responding to questions and such. It's not anybody's fault, of course, but it really was eye opening in the sense that it did explain my lack of muse, outside of other things. So, after a lot of thinking, I've decided to put this theory into practice. I know there's been a lot of you in the reviews who have been asking questions, but for the time being I'm not going to answer any of them. No offence to anyone, I just want to see if my silence actually makes me more productive with this fanfic. XD **

**Although I will kindly ask for people not to question when I'm going to be updating. I don't stick to time constraints with my fanfics, as I like to take my time so I actually complete these chapters properly. Seeing people wanting to know when I'm updating is a real muse-killer, honestly. Again, I don't mean offence by this, because I'm sure no one means any harm when asking. But this is just for future reference. I can't say when I'm going to update again after this, so don't expect anything too soon.**

 **Thank you again to those who have been reviewing, favouriting, following and reading this fanfic. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. Although I'll admit I'm surprised there are still people giving this fanfic so much attention. I would have thought it'd have disappeared into the abyss of the Persona fanfic section by now during its one year silence. XD**

* * *

Chapter 9: Twists and Turns

"Mom, I'm home!" I called out literally as I opened the door to the house, with Justine and Caroline standing close behind me. "Sorry I'm late! There was a delay with-"

"Outta the way!"

I stumbled backwards in surprise at hearing Yuuma yell my way, soon witnessing him darting past me whilst feeling the twins grabbing hold of my arms (I assumed for support in case I'd just knocked them).

"Yuuma?! Where are you going?!" I turned to watch him dash off out into Yongen-Yaya moments before he made his response.

"Can't talk! Check your phone!"

I frowned in confusion as Yuuma disappeared from my sight, prompting me to stand up straight and reach a hand into my pocket to take out my phone. I decided to just do as he told me instead of questioning him further. I figured I wouldn't get an answer out of him had I done so.

"And I thought the inmate looked ridiculous when he ran. He's worse," Caroline said as she and Justine let me go.

"Oi! That's _my cousin_ you're talking about!" I briefly glared at Caroline, who raised a brow out of confusion.

"You're what?"

"…"

Shaking my head in dismay, I went back to unlocking my phone when I heard it go off, indicating I'd had a text message come through. Justine and Caroline probably didn't understand the concept of 'family', I assumed.

"Never mind…"

The message was from Yuuma and it said the following:

' **Auntie had to pop out to get something. I've taken up extra hours at work. You're gonna be home alone for a while. See you later.'**

I sighed heavily and returned my phone back to my pocket, stepping ahead into the house with Justine and Caroline close at my heels. Their footsteps sounded slower than mine, so I guessed they were probably taking in their new surroundings.

' _ **How convenient**_ _.'_

I closed the door behind us once the pair of them were the last to enter the house, only to linger there and stare at the backs of the two girls as they slowly glanced around the narrow hallway and stairs. I thought it best to let them get their bearings before proceeding any further. After all, they probably had never been inside a house up until now.

" _This_ is the 'house' you were talking about on the way here?" Caroline questioned with disgust in her tone, a hand soon going to her hip. "Hmph. How cramped."

" _It's supposed to be that way_ …" I grumbled.

"And that human we saw is one of the two residents you say live here with you?" I glanced at Justine when she spoke up and turned her head in my direction.

" _Yes_ , which is why I warned you to stick by me at all times. The last thing I need is Mom and Yuuma believing we have ghosts…"

When I started to walk in the direction of and up the stairs, I soon saw Justine making to follow after me, with Caroline reacting slower and joining us once she noticed Justine pass her by.

"But you can see why I'm not expecting you to reveal everything to me at the moment. I'm not the only person in this place, so I have to keep my interactions with you to a minimum when they're not around."

"Then how do you expect us to tell you the truth if we have to walk around on eggshells?" That was Caroline being sarcastic as we started to reach the top of the stairs and head in the direction of my room.

"We'll do it in parts at places and times where I know we'll be okay to talk. But until then, there are a few rules I need to put in place."

I heard Caroline groan loudly.

"So it's come to this, huh? _Us_ following orders from _a sinner_? As if the bar couldn't go any lower…"

I shook my head and entered my room, continuing to talk as I chose to settle on my bed for the time being.

"You can complain all you want. But if I have to obey _your_ rules whilst in your territory, then it's only right you have to obey _mine_ in my territory."

"She does make a point," Justine agreed, with Caroline narrowing her eye at her out of annoyance.

"Glad you agree," was my sarcastic response, coupled with a cheeky smile.

The pair stayed by the doorway for now, but eventually allowed their gazes to wander out of curiosity after Justine's remark. When neither girl dared to make an outward comment my way, I took that as my cue to keep going.

"But back to the rules." I pointed a finger at my carpet. "You stay in _this room_ when I'm at school or I'm out somewhere else. I also ask you not to touch anything. I like my room in a certain way and I want it to stay like that."

Caroline rolled her eye at me, but mumbled a 'whatever' to show she would still listen to what I was saying. Justine nodded in agreement, meanwhile.

"That sounds reasonable."

"Good," I replied.

"What about your other terms?" Caroline asked, folding her arms. "You did say you wanted us to tell you everything before you helped us."

"I did, indeed. But like I've also said, I have other commitments that need to take priority. Which is why, for the time being, I don't expect you to tell me the truth all in one go. I would rather you give it to me in parts when necessary. But I'll be the one to ask you when I think it's appropriate."

Caroline nodded.

"Fine. What about right now?"

I raised a brow in surprise.

"Really? You'd do that?"

Caroline glanced around my room.

"There's no one else here but us, right? You didn't want people overhearing our conversations, if I remember correctly."

I smiled in amusement.

" _So you have been paying attention_. That's good to know~." Caroline scowled at me, but I was soon shaking my head and dropping my smile. "But no thanks. I'm too tired. I don't think I'm capable of processing any more information."

"I'm not surprised," she said with a snort, a smirk appearing.

"Take your time," Justine added, adjusting her clipboard under her arm as she locked gazes with Caroline. "There is still much we need to discuss, isn't there, Caroline?"

Caroline blinked in confusion. "… There is?" But after staring at Justine for a few seconds, her eye widened out of realisation. " _Oh_. Yes, yes there is!"

I shook my head in dismissal and lay back until I felt my back hit my bed, stretching my arms out on either side of me and closing my eyes.

"Do what you have to. I'm gonna take a nap. Remember not to touch anything whilst I'm asleep."

" _We won't_. We're not criminals." I heard Caroline grumble, but I chose not to make any further responses.

* * *

It took a few minutes before Verity officially dozed off, during which time the twin wardens now occupying the small bedroom had chosen to sit in the middle of the floor opposite one another in silence. The pair had removed their hats and other belongings (such as Caroline's baton and Justine's clipboard) from their persons to place in their laps for the time being, trying to make themselves as comfortable as possible in their new environment. Whilst Caroline had been idle and focused on taking in her surroundings some more, Justine had been busying herself with writing on an empty page of her clipboard using a pen she kept on hand. Caroline wasn't sure what her other half was up to but didn't bother to ask her. She would likely get her answer soon enough.

After a moment longer Justine put her pen down beside her on the carpet and dared to glance towards the bed, her gaze focusing on the slow rising and falling of Verity's chest. A few seconds of staring later, she spoke to Caroline in a low whisper.

"I think she's asleep now."

" _About time_ ," Caroline grumbled, straightening her posture before proceeding to clear her throat and focus on Justine. "You want to discuss what we've learnt so far to make sure we're both on the same page, correct?"

Justine nodded to Caroline's assumption, choosing to pick up her clipboard and hold it before her on the page she had been writing on.

"Yes. I've taken the liberty of noting them down for our convenience."

"Let's hear them then."

Justine cleared her throat before speaking, her lone eye fixed on the paper in front of her.

"We suspect the Inmate was granted powers from Yaldabaoth when they forged their pact, which we also believe the Sinner possesses. Whilst these powers appear to mimic those of a regular Persona user, they have manifested in a form linked to the false god; the Seven Deadly Sins." Justine paused to glance briefly at Caroline, who nodded for her to continue. "The Inmate has since used these powers to seal the door to the Velvet Room, requiring us to retrieve seven keys to unlock it. The Sinner has already used one, leaving us with six left."

Caroline scowled in annoyance.

"And that brings us to our current problem." She briefly glanced Verity's way. "The Sinner is our only lead right now. She recognised the keys as 'charms' and knows their name translations. But according to her, obtaining them in the real world isn't easy. She gained the key of wrath 'by accident', supposedly." She mimicked quotation marks with her fingers on either hand. "So we can't do anything until we figure out where we can find them."

"That isn't our _only_ current problem, Caroline," Justine corrected, prompting Caroline to blink in surprise.

"Huh?"

"You're forgetting that the Sinner has yet to master her Persona. Which puts us at a further disadvantage."

Caroline's eye drooped in dismay when she remembered.

" _Oh_. Forgot about that."

Justine shook her head at the response and returned her clipboard to her lap, with the twin wardens eventually focusing their gazes on Verity once more. She was a silent and still sleeper.

"Her Persona abilities are an enigma," Caroline mumbled, folding her arms across her lap and huffing out of frustration. "She doesn't know how to use them. And her lack of knowledge on the Metaverse further complicates things…"

Caroline frowned upon recalling Verity's 'panic attack' as she'd called it, and how it had rendered her panicked and scared to the point where she couldn't function, choosing to keep it to herself for now and not vocalise her thoughts.

' _ **Hey! Snap out of it!'**_

' _ **I would if I could…! I have no idea where I am…! W-We're being chased by some weird- weird thing…! I-I shouldn't have gone through that door…! I-I need to get out of here-!'**_

' _ **And you're going to, so just calm down!'**_

' _ **It's not that simple…!'**_

Caroline still didn't know what it was, but for now she didn't see it as a cause for concern.

"Why are we being tested like this?!"

" _Sssh_." Justine shushed Caroline for raising her voice as the latter placed her hands on the side of her head and started to pull at her hair. "Don't wake her."

"I wasn't trying to!" Caroline replied in a whisper. "I just don't know where to start with any of this! The inmate has put us into such a mess."

Justine was silent for a moment as she studied the malicious warden sat across from her. She couldn't deny that Caroline was right. There were so many obstacles they needed to overcome before they could even get into what they were supposed to do. And yet…

' _There is still one lead we have to go off…'_ Justine thought, her gaze wandering to the bed once more.

Her lone eye locked with the bracelet still around Verity's wrist, prompting a gloved hand to reach up to hold her chin in contemplation.

' _The Sinner mentioned there were real world versions of the keys existing, one of which she possesses. The Inmate has used an identical key. And yet, while both keys have the same capabilities to unlock and lock the Velvet Room, only the sinner has awoken to a Persona through it. We have yet to see the inmate imitate her abilities…'_ Justine closed her eye. _'I wonder…'_

" _Hey_. Justine." Justine opened her eye when Caroline addressed her, seeing the latter raising a brow her way. "What are you thinking about?"

The quiet warden dropped her hand to her lap and let out a small sigh. Even when she didn't display any emotions, Caroline sill managed to read her like a book.

"I was merely comparing the Sinner to the Inmate."

"What for?"

"To glean information." Justine frowned. "But that didn't turn out how I expected it to, considering their abilities are different, but also similar."

Caroline's brows raised at this. "… _Hang on_. I think you're on to something."

"Am I?"

Caroline nodded. "It's the Sinner's Persona abilities. They're the key for us to take our first step."

Justine tilted her head to the side with a confused blink. "Please explain, Caroline."

Caroline scowled towards Justine and held up a finger. " _Think back_ , Justine. When the Sinner awoke to her Persona, didn't the key of wrath turn into her weapon?" When Justine's eye widened in realisation, Caroline gave a triumphant smirk. "The Sinner has awoken to a Persona connected to the false god. And although the inmate appears to share the same abilities, we've only ever seen him use that key to lock us up." Caroline's smirk dropped. "There's clearly more to the Sinner's Persona abilities than we thought. And I think _she's_ the only one who can use them to their full potential. They could be what we need to find the remainder of the keys."

"I see," Justine mumbled in surprise, briefly closing her eye. "So, if we were to put our focus into training the Sinner and observing the similarities and differences between her Persona abilities and a normal Persona user's…" She opened her eye and focused back on a smug Caroline. "… we could potentially uncover how to retrieve the keys to the door."

Caroline smiled proudly. "Ha! Not a bad idea coming from me, huh?!"

Justine's eye drooped. "… I am the one who said it, Caroline."

"But _I_ implied it!"

Justine shook her head in dismay and focused her gaze on the window above Verity's bed. "We can use Mementos to hone her skills in a controlled environment. But we might have to be wary of the inmate in turn."

Caroline's shoulders slumped. "Oh, yeah. He and the Phantom Thieves are still running around. We'll need to watch that." She turned to Justine. "We're in agreement though, right? When the Sinner wakes up, we tell her we're going to start her Persona training?"

Justine nodded in agreement, prompting Caroline to sigh in relief as the former picked up her pen and clipboard to write down what they'd just discussed. Their silence only lasted a few seconds before they heard Verity let out a small groan, their heads turning in her direction as she shifted position and rolled over onto her left side. She didn't appear to be stirring awake, and yet she continued to make noises with her feet and hands twitching out of discomfort.

Justine and Caroline exchanged confused glances, with the latter being the first to pull away at hearing another groan from Verity.

"Looks like she's dreaming," Caroline said in a low voice, her brows raising at seeing one of Verity's hands clench into a loose fist, along with a brief shiver passing through her body. "And she's not having a pleasant one…"

Justine furrowed her brow out of concern as she followed Caroline's gaze, deciding to keep her thoughts to herself in favour of observing Verity from where she knelt.

' _I wonder what is causing her to react like that…'_

* * *

'… _What the hell?'_

That was the first thought that popped until my head when I came to, finding myself standing in the middle of a familiar hallway and in front of a familiar set of wooden stairs in the dark. I knew exactly where I was, and that only caused me further confusion as I took in another scan of the area.

' _Isn't this my old house? How did I get here?_

But my confusion didn't last for long. The sound of glass smashing to my left had me flinching and turning my head in the direction of the kitchen doorway, my brow furrowing as I suddenly felt compelled to walk towards it. I didn't know why I was heading that way, but for some reason I couldn't make myself stop. It was like I was reliving an event I was present for.

But I only got halfway there before I felt a hand grab my shoulder.

" _Stop."_ I swirled around in surprise to find Ira standing behind me, her expression unreadable because of the dark. I was just about able to make her out. _"You aren't ready."_

"What?" I responded, frowning in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

" _You know where you are, don't you?"_

"… _Yes._ I'm in my childhood home. Why is that relevant?"

Ira scowled. _"You've relived this scenario before. Over and over again. Don't you remember?"_

My frown deepened, prompting me to briefly glance in the direction of the kitchen again.

"What are you-? _Oh_ …" I cut myself off when it suddenly hit me, my shoulders slumping as I faced Ira and she let me go. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

Ira slowly nodded, leaving me to huff and place a hand to my forehead. It wasn't the first time I'd experienced this dream. Although…

"It's been _five years_. I thought my mind was over this by now…"

" _But it never did get over it, did it?"_ I glanced at Ira when she spoke, her eyes staring at me with pity. _"_ _ **This**_ _is what I was talking about before; about opening your eyes to the truth. You've been suspecting it yourself, haven't you? From the moment you awoke the side of you you've been suppressing, that all of this has been connected."_ Ira paused to grab hold of my left wrist, gently lifting it up to expose my bracelet and its charm. _"However, there's no rush for you to know everything now. I'm sure it'll all fall into place in due time. For now though…_ _ **take your time**_ _."_

My eyes widened when the charm started to glow, followed by a familiar cry of pain coming from behind me-

* * *

"-AH!" I loudly cried out the moment I opened my eyes, quickly sitting up just in time to catch Justine and Caroline recoiling from where they were sat on my bedroom floor, both of their eyes wide.

It took a few seconds before I was able to calm down, smiling awkwardly towards the two girls as Caroline scowled at me.

"… _Sorry_. Didn't mean to startle you."

" _Sorry_?! That's _all_ you have to say?! I nearly jumped out of my skin! What were you dreaming about to cause you to react like that?!"

I waved my hand in dismissal. "It's nothing. Just about us getting chased by those Shadows."

That was a lie, but I wasn't comfortable revealing anything about my situation to these two.

"At least you're finally awake," Justine said as Caroline huffed and grumbled something under her breath. "Assuming your rest was adequate despite your apparent discomfort, we're ready to discuss our next course of action with you."

I blinked in surprise at this revelation, having not expected them to have come to a solution already. But I was soon nodding and climbing off the bed to join them on the floor, sitting cross-legged in front of them.

"That's great. I'm all ears."

I saw Justine and Caroline exchange confused glances at my apparent show of enthusiasm.

"You're being surprisingly co-operative," Caroline remarked as she quickly glanced me up and down.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Can't I be? I don't know what I'm doing. And you two sound like you know more on the subject than me. It's only fair I hear you out, right?"

Caroline didn't say anything in response to that, prompting me to press on.

"So what have you got for me? What's your decision?"

" _Well_ , after talking it out, Justine and I think the best course of action to take right now is to focus on your training."

I frowned. "Training?"

"Correct," Justine answered, giving a satisfied nod. "Currently, we have little knowledge on your Persona abilities and how they function. And because of your lack of knowledge on the Metaverse, and having only just awoken to it, we're aware you're in the same position we are. Therefore, it makes sense to start with the basics, yes?"

"… I suppose so," I answered hesitantly, my frown deepening. "But can you two really do that?"

Caroline laughed loudly and placed a hand to her chest. " _Of course_ we can! As attendants of the Velvet Room, _it's our job_ to guide and aid the Persona users our master chooses! Not even the _inmate_ would be where he is if it wasn't for us!"

"From the little we've seen of you so far, your capabilities appear to mimic those of a Persona user," Justine added, closing her eye and adjusting her clipboard in her lap. "Teaching you to use your Persona shouldn't be an issue."

I slowly nodded in understanding. " _Okay_. But _how_ would you train me? Is it going to interfere with my weekly schedule in any way?"

"It's going to require us to return to Mementos. You can only use your Persona in the Metaverse, after all."

I leaned back a little at that, my eyes widening at immediately recalling the prison we'd been in not too long ago. "You mean that creepy prison place? We have to go back _there_ -?"

Caroline interrupted me after learning forward, poking me harshly in the middle of the forehead with the tip of her baton.

" _Ow_!"

"That was the _depths_ , you twit. You honestly don't think we'd send you back to the place we were trying to run away from, do you?"

I pouted and rubbed at my forehead as Caroline retracted. " _Hey_. It's not my fault! I didn't know there was more to that place!"

"Well, there is. And it's _much safer_. So don't worry about it, Sinner."

"But we'll ensure we don't conduct your training at times where it inconveniences you," Justine continued. "All we ask is that you let us know when you're available."

I nodded again, even though I was still confused about what they'd said. "That sounds fair."

"So we're in agreement then?" Caroline asked, looking for confirmation.

"We are."

"Good. That settles that!"

"Although that reminds me…" I sat up straight again. "There's something I've wanted to ask you. If you don't mind."

Justine and Caroline briefly glanced at one another out of hesitation. But Justine eventually answered me when Caroline nodded to give her the 'go-ahead'.

"What do you wish to know?"

I lifted my left hand up to stare at the charm still around my wrist, my brow furrowing out of thought. "Back in 'Mementos', as you call it… you explained that a 'Persona' is a _physical representation_ of part of my personality and inner thoughts."

"We did."

"And this 'inmate' you keep talking about… He's also like me, isn't he? A 'Persona user'?"

"Where are you going with this?" Caroline asked, sounding a little impatient and wary.

I glanced up at the pair and brought my left hand to my chest, trying to choose my next words carefully. " _Well_ … why exactly did I awaken to it in the first place? Like… _what_ is a 'Persona user'? Why do we have these strange powers? Is there a particular reason for it? Or a role we play? You did just say your 'master' chooses Persona users for you to guide, after all."

Justine and Caroline blinked in surprise at my questions, staying silent for the time being as they appeared to be trying to process what they'd just heard. It didn't seem like they were expecting me to go about asking something like this.

When they'd regained their composure, the twins glanced at each other again before Caroline loudly cleared her throat.

" _Oh_? That's all? I thought it was going to be something more complicated!" My eyes drooped at her response, but I stayed silent when she decided to continue. "To be honest… Persona users don't usually have 'assigned roles'. In fact, they are very rare to find."

"Why?" I asked, prompting Justine to chime in.

"A Persona user can only awaken to their Persona if they are dealing with inner turmoil, usually by being wronged or taken advantage of by someone. Should the Persona user then choose to rebel against that someone and accept their fate, they are granted the ability to fight Shadows in the Metaverse."

' _Be wronged or taken advantage of?'_ I repeated the explanation in my head, prompting me to frown in confusion as my gaze flitted back to my bracelet and charm. _'What could_ _ **I**_ _have wanted to rebel against to awaken to a Persona?'_

"I can judge by the look on your face that you are currently attempting to work out what caused you to awaken to your Persona, yes?"

I flinched and raised my head when I heard Justine speak, blinking in shock as I tried to get myself together after being taken off guard like that. But before I had a chance to open my mouth and respond, Caroline beat me to it with a scowl.

"You're not the only one, Sinner. _Luckily for you_ though, _we think_ we might have an answer to give you."

My brows raised at that out of surprise. "… You do?"

Justine nodded. "We do. You appeared to hint at it shortly after awakening to your Persona, which is likely why you don't remember."

I raised a hand to my forehead to give it a rub, frowning in thought. " _Yeah_. You're probably right. My memory during that moment is fuzzy."

Caroline folded her arms and leaned forward, trying to get as close to me as physically possible without falling over. "Would you like for us to tell you what you said? Because we're actually curious about it ourselves."

I shrugged my shoulders. "You might as well. You answered my question. I'm more than happy to answer yours."

Caroline's eye narrowed out of suspicion. "You sounded like you had an issue with those who want others to think and act on their behalf. And when listing examples, you happened to mention the ' _Phantom Thieves_ '."

I blinked in surprise at this, having not expected it. "I did?" But then I was quick to frown at realising something. "Wait… _You_ know about the Phantom Thieves?"

Caroline waved a hand in dismissal. " _Of course_ we do! They're not just known about in _your world_ , you know!"

I was taken aback by this, but Justine was quick to intervene and pull my attention back to the topic at hand when she cleared her throat. "Caroline, you're diverging from the main issue at hand…"

Caroline shook her head. "Sorry." She turned back to me and raised a brow out of curiosity. " _Back to you and the Phantom Thieves_ … What's up with that?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning in confusion.

"Why were the Phantom Thieves used as your example? Do you have a problem with them?"

I narrowed my eyes out of suspicion, naturally hesitating due to déjà vu _slowly_ beginning to creep up on me. "Why would you want to know that? You're not gonna judge me for what I tell you, are you?"

Both Justine and Caroline blinked in confusion at my questions, not seeming to understand why I'd asked them such a thing in the first place.

"… What need would we have to do that?" Justine asked, causing me to mirror their previous actions by blinking back at them in return. "We just thought it was rather strange, considering the state of the world at the moment."

"You're the first human we've met since leaving the Velvet Room who's said they have an issue with the Phantom Thieves," Caroline continued, her brow furrowing in thought. "You've got to admit that it's _a little odd_ , isn't it?"

"It's not that I have _an issue_ with them," I spoke without thinking, holding my hands out in surrender. I felt like I was a criminal suspect being interrogated. I blamed the girls' current attires. " _I just think_ what they've been doing recently hasn't been morally right, you know?"

Caroline raised a brow out of interest, while Justine appeared to be staring at me rather intently. I couldn't stand looking at them through their silence, so I ended up turning my head away, especially when I felt my cheeks heat up.

"B-But why does my opinion intrigue you guys so much anyway? It's not like the Phantom Thieves have anything to do with what's currently going on, right?"

When neither Caroline or Justine responded to my rhetorical question, I glanced back at them with a suspicious frown, their expressions unchanged. I wasn't expecting them to answer me, but something about the way they were looking at me made me wonder if what I'd said wasn't just nonsense…

" _Wait_ … You're not trying to tell me the Phantom Thieves are actually-"

"Verity, I'm home!"

I fell quiet when I heard Mom's voice call to me from downstairs, with Caroline and Justine turning to look back at my bedroom door as I called back to her.

"Hi, Mom! Give me a second! I'll be down soon!"

"Alright! Don't take too long! I need some help putting this stuff away!"

"Is that the other inhabitant you told us about?" Justine enquired, prompting me to nod as I got up from the floor and lowered my voice when I answered her.

"Yeah. Looks like we'll have to cut our discussion short for now."

Caroline huffed in annoyance and folded her arms.

"Hmph! And just as we were close to getting our answers too…"

I smiled in amusement and ruffled Caroline's exposed hair as I walked by the two on the floor and continuing talking quietly, my smile widening at the shocked blink and pink flush that suddenly rose to the girl's cheeks. "We'll talk more soon. In the meantime, please wait here and don't touch anything. I'll be back to check on you soon."

Caroline and Justine were quiet when I left the room, but once out in the hallway I thought I heard Caroline about something that I couldn't quite catch, followed by Justine responding with something I also couldn't make out. Maybe it had something to do with me ruffling her hair, not that I was ever going to find out…

* * *

 _ **16**_ _ **th**_ _ **April 20XX [Evening]**_

"-AH!" Yumma loudly cried out as he felt his back hit the wall of the alleyway in Shibuya he'd been dragged into, his terrified red eyes locking with the cold gaze of the older teenager who had pinned him there by the shoulders.

"Where's my money, Hashimoto?" A shorter, brown-haired teenager around Yuuma's age spoke up quietly from behind the other teenager, his brown eyes full of silent anger as he stared Yuuma down with his hands in the pockets of his plain black hoodie. "I've given you more than enough notice by now to pay it back, don't you think?"

Despite how much his body was currently trembling from fright, Yuuma turned his gaze to the teenager and glared. "It's not my fault you keep raising your demands ridiculously high, Eito! Maybe if you actually made them _payable_ , you wouldn't have to beat up so many students-!"

Yuuma was cut off when 'Eito' raised his hand and clicked his fingers, prompting the other teenager restraining Yuuma to knee him hard in the gut. Yuuma gasped for air and collapsed to the floor of the alleyway as the teenager released him, with Eito remaining unfazed as he watched Yuuma curl up and cradle his middle in his arms with a groan, struggling to catch his breath.

"That's _Mister Takahashi_ to you, Hashimoto. Learn to respect your betters."

" _Ugh_ …" Yuuma tilted his head in the direction of the teenager still towering over him, his question coming out in parts due to trying to regain his breath. "When did you even… get a creepy ass henchman anyway…?" He started to cough after that.

Eito chuckled darkly and moved closer to where Yuuma lay on his side, kneeling beside him with an amused smile on his face. "My family's _loaded_ , remember? It shouldn't surprise you that I can hire students of Shujin to do my dirty work for me."

Eito grabbed the back of Yuuma's hair so he could tilt his head towards him, his smile turning sinister. "Tell you what, Hashimoto. I'm feeling a little _generous_ this evening. Since you're trying _so hard_ to pay me what you owe, how about I give you until the end of the month? _Say_ … _May 5_ _th_?"

Yuuma's eyes narrowed, his fear temporarily disappearing to be replaced by anger.

"You're a real scumbag, ya know that?"

Eito responded with an eerie grin. "You can't blame me for your family being poor, Hashimoto." He used his other hand to poke Yuuma harshly in the forehead. "The rich and the popular have a right to judge those beneath them. That's how it's always been. They don't call me 'The Sheriff of Shujin' for nothing, do they?"

Yuuma didn't say anything as Eito finally let him go, briefly flinching as his head hit the ground again.

"You have until May 5th to give me my money. Otherwise the whole school will know about your family's little secret…"

Yuuma watched from where he was lying on the ground as Eito stood up and started to walk away from the alleyway, his teenage associate following close behind him without need to be told.

Yuuma stayed where he was until he couldn't hear Eito's footsteps anymore, and when he was sure everything was silent he attempted to get to his feet, doing his best to ignore the pain in his gut.

' _What an asshole. If he didn't have that info on us, I wouldn't be bothering to play that twit's stupid games. And the same goes for the other students he keeps blackmailing.'_ Yuuma paused when he felt an ache shoot through his gut, causing him to grit his teeth and grip at the area where he'd been kneed until the pain passed. _'It's a wonder the Phantom Thieves haven't done anything about him. There have been a lot of anonymous complaints on the Phan-Site about him. Do they even check that thing anymore?'_

Just as he managed to get to his feet, he heard his phone start to ring from the pockets of his convenience store uniform.

He quickly reached in and pulled out his phone, looking at the caller ID with drooped eyes.

' _Auntie's calling. I'd better answer.'_

Yuuma answered and put the phone to his ear as he started slowly walking away from the alleyway, greeting his Aunt as if he hadn't just gotten kneed in the gut.

"Hey, Auntie! … Yeah, _sorry_! My boss at the convenience store had me working overtime again. But I'm on my way home now, so don't worry. I'll let ya know when I'm back."

Meanwhile, somewhere within Mementos, the Shadow who resembled Yuuma lay curled up on the ground in a ball, his yellow eyes closed tight to suppress the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. The Shadow was sniffling quietly in the shadowy darkness swirling around him, eventually uttering a single name from his lips for the empty area to hear in a pained voice.

"Kaori…"


End file.
